


Tiffany Pemberton and the Ice Knight

by Grace_Sparrow



Series: Tiffany Pemberton and the Cursed Vaults [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Hogwarts Mystery
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cursed Vaults, Duelling, Female Rowan Khanna, Gen, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Swearing, Third Person POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-09 07:12:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 23,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15262152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grace_Sparrow/pseuds/Grace_Sparrow
Summary: Tiffany Pemberton returns for her second year at Hogwarts; popular, top of her class, and ready to get into more trouble than before. She's going to find her way into those damned Cursed Vaults, no matter what.





	1. Summer

Summer, quite honestly, sucks for Tiffany.

 

Caroline and her mother have gone away for three weeks in August, and since Tiffany was pulled out of primary school, she no longer has many friends in the village to talk to and play with, so she spends most of her time reading.

 

This in itself isn’t that bad, she likes to read, it helps to broaden the mind after all.

 

Unfortunately, there are no bookshops or even a library nearby, and her mother won’t give her any bus money to go into Bath to buy herself more books. Although, the lack of bookshops isn’t really an issue when she’s barely been allowed outside the house. She got to sunbathe in the garden a few days ago, but beyond the occasional treat Tiffany has been stuck indoors, much to her displeasure.

 

“No, Tiffany!”

 

“But why?”

 

“You know very well why.” Her mother adjusts her glasses on her nose, and places her hands on her hips. “You got into too much trouble last year, and I had another note from Dumbledore at the end of the year saying that you’d entered a forbidden area! This is your punishment!”

 

“But Mum!” Tiffany pleads. “I’m bored!”

 

“Eat your breakfast and stop complaining!”

 

Tiffany sulkily eats the rest of her cereal.

 

* * *

 

Finally, it seems, Tiffany gets her school supply list for her next year, and she can escape her tiny village; if only for a day to go to Diagon Alley. Somehow, she manages to persuade her mother to go on her own again. Last year she’d been frightened to go by herself, but now she longs for freedom.

 

She waves happily to Tulip Karasu as the red head leaves Magical Menagerie, holding what looks like a toad. They don’t talk, but then Tulip has always been a bit of a loner, so it’s no surprise and Tiffany doesn’t take any offence.

 

On her way out of Sugarplum’s Sweets Shop, clutching a bag full of sweets that she almost certainly shouldn’t have bought, she all but collides with Andre Egwu, who has a brand new broom clutched in his grasp.

 

“Careful!” He says a little angrily.

 

“You ran into me!” Tiffany complains, picking herself up and dusting off her skirt. “New broom?”

 

“For try outs!” He puffs up his chest a little. “My parents have let me get a new broom, so I’ll definitely make seeker!”

 

“Oh! That’s so cool.” Tiffany says. She’s honestly not that interested, but it will be cool having someone in her class on the team.

 

“Have you thought about trying out for the team? You’re a decent flyer!”

 

“Oh! No. Mum won’t let me have a broom, so I can’t practice over the holidays.” Tiffany mourns. “I’m not too worried though, I have other things to worry about.”

 

“Like your brother.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Well, it was nice to talk to you, Tiffany. I’ll see you in a couple weeks!”

 

“Yeah, see you Andre!”

 

Andre saunters away, and Tiffany stares after him. She stands still for just a few moments before deciding to see how many of her school books she can buy on the cheap from one of the second hand book shops nearby. She already has a copy of _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_ from Jacob’s time at Hogwarts, but there are two new books for Defence class, and another textbook for astronomy.

 

Tiffany pushes her way into the shop, and a bell sounds off above her head. She recognises one of the Gryffindor prefects working behind the counter, likely trying to save up some money over the summer by taking on a part time job, and also Merula Snyde paying for her books, face twisted in concentration as she counts out the coppers one by one. Merula looks up as Tiffany enters, and after a brief moment of awkwardness, Tiffany decides to pretend she can’t see Merula. It’s for the best, if Merula decides to take some offence and duel in the shop, Tiffany will be grounded for the rest of her life, rather than just the rest of the summer.

 

Once Merula leaves the shop, Tiffany is able to take her books to the counter to buy, and the prefect gives her an odd look.

 

“Pemberton, right?”

 

“Tiffany, yeah. You’re in Gryffindor, aren’t you?”

 

“Yeah, I’m Angelica.”

 

“Good summer?”

 

“Not really, I don’t mind working but it sucks not being able to go outside. How about you?”

 

“I’ve been grounded since I got back for last year, so it’s not been great. Today’s the first day I’ve been allowed out.”

 

“That sucks.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Well, that’ll be two sickles and five knuts.”

 

Tiffany hands over the money.

 

“Thanks, bye!”

 

She leaves the store, stacking her books into her large leather satchel, and carefully places her bag of sweets from earlier on top so that they don’t get squashed. As she walks down the Alley, she comes to a sudden stop as she sees something that she really wants.

 

In one of the shop windows, there’s a brown leather utility belt, with multiple pouches, all with beautiful metal clasps. It looks like something Indiana Jones might wear if he were a wizard rather than a muggle, and Tiffany _wants_ it.

 

Except, the price tag is 14 galleons.

 

She has two.

 

Shit.

 

“Hello Tiff!”

 

Tiffany jumps out of her skin and whips around to see Penny standing behind her, a grin on her face. Penny’s wearing a pair of acid wash jeans, and a pink leopard print top. She looks, in Tiffany’s opinion, cool.

 

“Hey, Pen.” Tiffany tries to get her breath back after her fright.

 

“I see you’ve found something you like.” Penny says, moving to stand next to her. “Looking for Vault breaking gear?”

 

“Maybe.” Tiffany feels a blush creep over her freckled cheeks. She doesn’t know why, but Penny always makes her feel a little bit silly. It’s not because she’s mean, or tries to make her feel small, but Tiffany always has an urge to impress her. “I can’t afford it though.”

 

Penny leans forward and squints at the price. “Oh wow, yeah that’s not cheap. Could you ask your parents to buy it for you?”

 

“I am in way too much trouble for that.” Tiffany rubs the back of her head self-consciously. “I’ll save up for it. It’ll be okay.”

 

“I’m sure it will be.” Penny smiles one of her beautiful smiles, and leaves as her mother calls down the street to her. “Bye, Tiff!”

 

“Bye, Pen!”

* * *

 

_To Tiffany,_

_I hope your parents aren’t being too strict with you! I got grounded too, if that makes you feel better. I’m so jealous that Penny’s parents only grounded her for a week, and we can’t go anywhere for the whole summer besides getting our school supplies!_

_My parents bought a cat though. I won’t bring him to Hogwarts, my parents love him too much for me to do that. He’s called Fuzzclaw, and he’s so fluffy! I love him a lot. It’s probably safer to keep him at home anyway, what with these Cursed Vaults._

_Have you started reading the new textbooks, yet? I have! I’m really looking forward to classes!_

_From,_

_Rowan._

* * *

 

_To Rowan,_

_I’m really sorry we weren’t able to meet in Diagon Alley to get school supplies. I miss talking to you in person, but Mum wouldn’t let me go on any other day._

_Fuzzclaw sounds cute! It’s a shame you aren’t bringing him to school, I’d love to meet him! But yes I agree, it’s safer to keep him with your parents._

_And yes, I’ve read the textbooks. Three times already! I’m so bored being stuck here, I bet you are too._

_I’ll see you when school starts!_

_From,_

_Tiffany._

* * *

“So, you’re leaving tomorrow.”

 

Caroline and Auntie Susan came over for dinner before Tiffany left, a kind gesture from her mother after Tiffany spent a summer being punished. Now, Tiffany and Caroline are relaxing in Tiffany’s room. It’s tidy, insofar as Tiffany’s belongings are all packed away in her trunk ready for school. Luckily this means that Tiffany didn't have to try and hide her magical belongings; apparently there are 'laws' and the 'Statute of Secrecy' or something. Tiffany doesn't really care about it all that much, and keeping secrets from Caroline sucks a little bit, but there's not much she can do to change it. 

 

“Yeah, I am.” Tiffany plays with a loose curl. “I miss you, though. When I’m away.”

 

“Cutie.” Caroline ruffles Tiffany’s hair. “Try not to get into too much trouble this time, yeah?”

 

“I’ll try, but you know…”

 

“I know what?”

 

“Sometimes, you just have to do things, right?”

 

“You’re a strange kid, Tiff.”

 

Caroline reaches over, and pulls her into a hug, that Tiffany gladly reciprocates. She really is going to miss her cousin.

 

"Oh, I got you something." Caroline reaches into her jacket pocket, and pulls out a photograph. It's still, like all muggle photos, and Tiffany gratefully accepts it, and looks at the photo.

It was taken  _years_ ago. Tiffany only looks to be about five, and Caroline a little older and Jacob older still. They'd gone to their Grandmother's house, and their families had decided to take a picture of them all on the swing. They're all grinning, and it's a very cute photo. The only other photo Tiffany has of Jacob is the one taken at the beach. 

  
"We were clearing out some old things and I found it. Thought you might like a reminder of home when you go off to boarding school again."

 

"It's wonderful, Caroline!" Tiffany gushes. "Thank you!"

 

They pretend to ignore the dampness in Tiffany's eyes.

 

 


	2. Back to School

This time on the journey to Hogwarts, Tiffany is joined not just by Rowan, but Penny and Ben as well. Tiffany made her peace with Rowan’s hyper emotional personality last year (or at least, kind of), and Penny is a welcome presence as always; but Ben is…

 

A nervous wreck.

 

And it annoys Tiffany so much.

 

Penny places a gentle hand on Tiffany’s knee when she looks like she’s about to snap at Ben’s nervous monologue about how the ‘ice must have covered the castle now’ and ‘what if Merula is still mad at them all’ and ‘what if the teachers give us detention for interfering with the vaults?’

 

“Ben, you didn’t go anywhere near the ice, and we don’t even know for sure if there IS a Vault in that corridor yet.” Tiffany points out after a few deep breaths, an act encouraged by Penny and Rowan who noticed her patience beginning to falter. 

 

“About the vaults, however.” Rowan chimes in, before Ben even has the chance to look hurt at Tiffany’s remark. “I did some research about the school; there are these staircases that seem to no longer exist in the school, but no record of how they vanished.”

 

“What has that got to do with the Vaults?” Penny asks, tilting her head to one side.

 

“Tiffany had a vision.”

 

“It sucked.”

 

“She fainted, it was scary.”

 

“Thanks, Rowan.”

 

“What are you all talking about?”

 

Merula Snyde lets herself into their compartment, and takes a seat next to Ben, who visibly pales (which is saying something, as he is already rather pale). She folds her arms, and looks generally grumpy. Then again, so does Tiffany, so she can’t say much.

 

“Nothing, Snyde.” Tiffany snaps back, Merula doesn’t take the hint to back off.

 

“If you’re talking about the Cursed Vaults, I want you to know I’ll find them first.”

 

“What Vaults?” Rowan tries to play innocent. Everyone just raises their eyebrows at her.

 

“Anyway, what’s this about Pemberton fainting, Khanna?” Merula pries.

 

“This is really old news.” Tiffany tries to deflect.

 

“It’s new to me!” Penny comments.

 

“And me!”

 

“No one cares, Ben.”

 

“I do.” Merula pouts her lip. “Don’t you trust me, Pemberton? After all we’ve been through?”

 

“Funnily enough, no. I don’t. Get out.”

 

“What if I say no?”

 

“Then I’ll kick your arse, Merula. Now leave.”

 

Merula sniffs, and struts out the compartment with her nose held high in the air, while Ben looks at Tiffany like she’s a Goddess.

 

“How do you do that?”

 

“What?”

 

“Make her go away?”

 

“It’s called my zero tolerance policy. I don’t tolerate bullshit, and she’s full of it.”

 

“Language!” Penny and Rowan both chide her, and Tiffany just rolls her eyes in response.

 

“What was that about Tiffany fainting, and the stairs, by the way?” Ben asks shyly.

 

“Oh! Tiffany fainted.”

 

“Did not.”

 

“You did. She fainted, and she had this vision! And she saw a staircase, and a suit of armour, and ice spreading across the school!” Rowan raises her arms dramatically, and it looks a little lame, but Tiffany appreciates the attempt at story telling.

 

“Oh, that makes more sense now.” Penny nods her head, understanding why Rowan would be studying staircases now. “I can’t believe you fainted though, Tiffany.”  


“I didn’t!”

* * *

 

Just like last year, Rowan manages to drift off on the train, but this time Tiffany soon follows. She’d not really slept properly the last few nights. She will never admit it, but Tiffany is almost as anxious as Ben about returning to school this year. Now she has a reputation not just from her brother’s misdeeds, but her own rule breaking. Everyone knows that she broke into the secret corridor last year, and now they’re going to be watching her even more closely than before. Penny wakes her up to offer her some treacle fudge. Rowan is already awake, lap full of sugar quills and acid pops. The sugar can’t be good for her teeth, but Rowan is unbothered as she happily munches on a liquorice wand.

 

Their peace and quiet is soon disturbed again, however.

 

Tonks, Charlie, and Andre come bursting through the door to the compartment.

 

“Hide us!” Tonks begs. “The prefects are coming!”

 

Charlie and Andre are hilariously out of breath, and by the looks on their faces, Tiffany realises that Tonks probably caused mischief, and now the boys are caught up in it. Penny is on her feet in an instant, clasping her hands.

 

“I’ll give you a boost!”

 

Ben watches in fear, and Tiffany and Rowan try to hold in their laughter as Penny helps the three trouble makers hide in the luggage shelf. Andre threatens to murder Tonks, but there’s no real heat in it. They barely manage to hide in time before an angry looking Chester Davies, followed by one of the Slytherin prefects (who is missing half an eyebrow, and scowling like thunder) open the compartment door.

 

“Tiffany, where are they?” Chester demands. Tiffany widens her eyes innocently at him. “I know you’re friends with them.”

 

“I have no idea who you’re talking about!” Tiffany mock gasps. Penny and Rowan giggle, Ben looks like he might faint. “My friends are all here!” She uses her arms to indicate the other three.

 

“Oh they’re here alright.” The Slytherin points up, and Tiffany almost groans, but giggles instead. Tonks’ bright pink hair is easily visible amongst the luggage on the shelf.

 

Chester cuffs Tiffany around the back of the head, which is very unfair. She is mostly innocent in this situation, after all.

* * *

 

After the sorting, Dumbledore rises to his feet and begins his speech.

 

“Welcome to our new first-year students, and to our returning students, welcome back! Focus on your studies, make time for your friends, but above all else, be careful as you journey about the castle. If you see anything odd that isn’t a normal Hogwarts oddity, please report it to a member of staff. Every year is an interesting one at Hogwarts, but I have a feeling that this year holds more surprises than most.”

 

There’s a soft murmuring that breaks out across all the tables, and Tiffany sees Chester glare at her from where he’s sat with the new first year students.

 

“And finally, I would like to announce this year’s new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Theodosia Thistle.”

 

A tall woman with greying blonde hair stands up, and raises a hand in thanks to the small round of applause.

 

“Now, please enjoy the feast!”

 

It’s funny watching this year’s first years’ faces light up in amazement at the food that seems to materialise out of nowhere and remember that they were in their shoes last year. There’s a slight pang of possessive jealousy in Tiffany’s gut when she sees Chester smiling at a blonde first year girl.

 

Andre elbows in her side.

 

“Ow!” Tiffany complains. “What?”

 

“Jane asked you a question!”

 

Jane Potts rolls her eyes when she finally gets Tiffany’s attention. Turns out, all she wanted was to talk about her summer holidays.

 

“I went to Paris for two weeks with my parents.” Jane seems rather smug, now that she can tell everyone about her travels after Tiffany and Rowan confessed to being in trouble all summer. “We went up the Eiffel Tower, and I even got to go in the catacombs!”

 

“Wasn’t that scary?” Charlotte gasps.

 

Tiffany gladly tunes out the rest of the conversation.

* * *

 

Once the First Years have filtered out of the Great Hall, lead by their prefects, the rest of the students follow to their dormitories. Andre gets dragged into a conversation about quidditch with Martin and Nick, leaving Tiffany and Rowan to socialise with the other girls on their way up to the tower. Tulip is as quiet as she normally is, and Jane and Charlotte as chatty.

 

“How many cats can you put in an empty box?”

 

“One, after that, the box isn’t empty.” Tulip answers easily, and the others thank her as they all enter the common room. Chester is already there, and Tiffany happily sticks her tongue out at him as she passes.

 

The girls all enter their dormitory together, and soon they’re ready for bed. Charlotte sits on Jane’s bed, and the two are gossiping quietly with one another, while Tulip returns to her own bed after feeding her new pet, Dennis. Jane had squealed in horror at the sight of him, but Tulip refused to get rid of him. Tiffany’s new gift from Caroline already sits on her nightstand, it’s not been framed so it lies flat.

 

Rowan chatters on to Tiffany about her new cat, Fuzzclaw, and Tiffany would listen; she would. But her bed is so warm, and the sheets are soft, and so, so inviting. She's asleep almost the instant she puts her head on the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YEAR 2 YEAR 2 YEAR 2 YEAR 2
> 
> Ah, it's so great being able to get more into this story! I hope you guys enjoyed the last one (assuming you read it, of course. If you haven't, I recommend doing that before going any further with this one!) and are looking forward to reading more about Tiffany!
> 
> Honestly, I started writing this fic to both record the parts of the game I liked, and fix the bits I didn't. Now, slowly (very slowly) I feel like Tiffany is starting to take control more, so while this will still follow the game, hopefully you'll start to see some more original stuff!
> 
> Comments and kudos keep me motivated ;) 
> 
> And thanks for reading!


	3. Ben's Vanishing Act

Ravenclaw has Defence Against the Dark Arts with Hufflepuff first thing, and Tiffany barely wakes up in time for the lesson. Her stomach grumbles at her, complaining about her skipped breakfast even as she whispers to it in the hopes that it’ll stop making ridiculous noises.

 

The new Professor isn’t as interesting as they’d hoped, but she’s still an improvement upon last year’s. Professor Barber had been… unremarkable in every single way.

 

In saying that, Professor Theodosia Thistle is a remarkably _dull_ woman.

 

Penny is miming falling asleep at Rowan and Tiffany, who barely have time to conceal their laughter before McGonagall is striding through the door, looking somewhat angry and alarmed at the same time. She doesn’t even bother to address Thistle before she speaks.

 

“Tiffany Pemberton, Rowan Khanna, and Penny Haywood. See me outside.”

 

The rest of the class holds their breath as the girls get up from their seats. They go to grab their things, but McGonagall shakes her head, and tries to make them hurry.

 

Merula is stood outside too, looking as confused as the rest of them.

 

“Girls. I must ask you if you have any idea as to where Ben Copper might be.”

 

Tiffany blinks.  
  
Rowan’s eyes widen.

 

Penny is the only one with a response. “Charlie Weasley said Ben had already left the dorm when he woke up for breakfast. I assumed he wanted to be early for potions.”

 

Merula scoffs. “Know it all.”

 

“Miss Snyde, another interruption and I shall take points from your house. None of you girls have seen Mr Copper at all?”

 

“No, Ma’am.” Tiffany replies. “Why, is something wrong?”

 

“He has not been seen since last night, and after what happened with him and the Cursed Ice last year, the faculty is concerned.”

 

“What happened with Ben and the Ice?” Rowan asks.

 

“Do not feign ignorance, Miss Khanna. We know what you were all doing last year.” McGonagall sounds put out. "What you saw in that corridor must have had an effect on him, and we need to know everything that happened."

 

“Ma’am, Ben never came with us!” Tiffany protests. “I specifically didn’t invite him along!”

 

McGonagall pauses in her tracks. “What do you mean?”

 

“He wasn’t there.” Merula confirms. “I would have remembered.”

 

There’s an awkward pause while everyone watches on another, waiting for something to happen.

 

“Well, thank you for your time, girls. Please return to your lessons.”

 

* * *

 

A full week goes by, and there’s still no sign of Ben.

 

“Where do you think he is?” Penny asks quietly, scribbling notes on a piece of parchment. The library is largely empty at the start of the year, so Tiffany and the others are trying to make use of it now before the fifth and seventh years take over during exam season.

 

“Maybe he dropped out?” Rowan reasons, “He was always so afraid of everything last year.”

 

“How would he have gotten himself back home without anyone knowing?” Tiffany argues. “I think something might have taken him.”

 

“Maybe it’s to do with the Cursed Ice!” Penny says. “McGonagall was convinced he came with us last year; why would she do that?”

 

“What if… what if Ben has been trying to find the Vaults on his own?” Rowan asks.

 

“Why would he do that?” Tiffany counters. “He’s afraid of everything, he’s too much of a coward to go looking for the Vaults.”

 

“He has to have been put in Gryffindor for a reason.” Penny points out. “And well, he’s quite good at sneaking around without anyone knowing. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rowan is right.”

 

“What’s this about?” Charlie sits down next to Rowan, with Tonks and Andre following behind.

 

“Ben.” The three girls reply in sync.

 

“I hope he’s alright.” Tonks comments, although she doesn’t bother to keep her voice down, so Madam Pince glares at her from the front desk.

 

“I’m sure he’ll be okay.” Andre says confidently. “Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain, after all.”

 

Tiffany raises an eyebrow in disbelief.

  
“Anyway, we have some good news.” Tonks is grinning a little too proudly and for a second Tiffany thinks she might declare Snape dead.

 

“We all made it onto our Quidditch teams!” Charlie grins.

 

“Two seekers and a chaser.” Andre says. “Tonks is the chaser.”

 

“Well now who are we supposed to cheer for?” Penny asks, pretending to be irritated. “You’re all just too brilliant!”

 

“Congratulations, guys!” Tiffany and Rowan congratulate them. There’s a fair amount of hugging, and rather a lot of noise so they all get shooed out of the library by Madam Pince. This can't ruin their joy however, and their cheers continue as they travel through the castle.

* * *

Another week goes by, and there’s still no sign of him.

 

Even Tiffany is started to get genuinely worried at this point.

 

Currently, she’s relaxing with Rowan as they watch the Ravenclaw quidditch train, occasionally giving Andre a thumbs up when he looks over to them for approval. It’s not the most interesting thing to do in the world, but it beats doing homework or worrying about situations she has no control over, so she’ll take it.

 

It’s interrupted by McGonagall stalking her way through the training grounds, a concerned look on her face.

 

“Miss Pemberton, Miss Khanna. My office, if you please.”

* * *

 

“Sit down.”

 

Tiffany and Rowan share a look of concern, and do as they’re told. McGonagall sits on the other side of the desk. Tiffany takes note of the circles under her eyes, and feels more than a little sorry for her. Having a student go missing must be taking a toll on the staff. McGonagall pushes a biscuit tin forward.

 

“Have a biscuit, girls.”

 

They happily comply.

 

“You may have noticed that Ben Copper still has not been found. We’ve had aurors in and out of the school to look for him, but there’s still no sign of him.”

 

Rowan looks sad at this news; Tiffany just nods her head to show she’s listening.

 

“As much as I hate to say this, you two seem to have a knack for finding things. Therefore, I am giving you my full permission to do what you can, within reason, to find Mr Copper.”

 

“Yes, Ma’am!” Tiffany perks up. She still doesn’t really like Ben, but if looking for him gives her a cover for sneaking around the castle, then finding the Cursed Vaults will be much easier. And... maybe she is a little worried. Charms is odd without his elbow getting in her way. 

 

“And if you have any information that could be useful, I must be told.” McGonagall gives them both a stern stare. Tiffany blinks, and Rowan then nudges her in the side, mouthing ‘code!’ at her. McGonagall seems to wait patiently.

 

“We… found something about the Cursed Ice, but I don’t see how it effects Ben at all.” Tiffany begins. “There was a secret message above the door in that cupboard we got stuck in. Rowan is the one who managed to figure out the code.”

 

“And what did it say?”

 

Tiffany turns to Rowan, trying to let her speak, but her friend has just shoved another whole biscuit into her mouth. Tiffany sighs, and continues.

 

“It mentioned an Ice Knight, and vanished stairs.” Tiffany says.

 

“I see. Thank you for this information. I will inform the Headmaster, and this time we can hope that the ice stays in that room.”

 

“This time?” Rowan says around a mouthful of biscuit, crumbs dropping onto her lap. “The ice thing has happened before?”

 

“It’s not important.” McGonagall says sharply. “What is important, is that you search Ben Copper’s known hiding places, and see if you can find something that we could not. Dismissed, girls.”

 

Tiffany gets up and leaves, Rowan only following after she manages to grab another biscuit, to the amusement of McGonagall who Tiffany can hear chuckle under her breath. It’s a marvel that Rowan is so stick thin with the amount of sweet treats she eats.

 

“So what’s the plan?” Rowan finally manages to say once she’s finished her snack.

 

“The plan?”

 

“To look for Ben!”

 

“Oh! I guess we can search the Artefact room tomorrow after potions.”

 

“Do you think we’ll find him?” Rowan asks, brushing crumbs off of her robes. Tiffany just shrugs.

 

“We’ll probably find something in there.” Tiffany replies. “Come on, I want to watch the rest of Andre’s first practice.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact; a few years ago I nicknamed my anxiety disorder "Benjamin", because it was easier to ignore the anxious thoughts by saying "Shut up, Benjamin" than using the breathing techniques I was taught.
> 
> I'm pretty sure that this is why I cannot like Ben, which is kind of amusing (to me anyway). 
> 
> Anyway! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! One thing I noticed in the game is that the time from Ben going missing and being found again is actually quite a big gap.


	4. A Mysterious Note

Potions is awful, as usual. Merula is smug as ever still about Ben Copper going missing. She makes snide comments to Ismelda Murk and Barnaby Lee, who giggle along with her while Snape does nothing to discourage them. In fact, when Liz Tuttle had leaned across the table to tell Rowan she hoped Ben turned up soon, he threatened her with detention for encouraging ‘reckless behaviour’ from the school’s resident rule breakers.

 

“First your idiot brother goes missing, and now your idiot friend!” Merula crows as they leave the classroom, seemingly oblivious to the glares she gets from other students. Andre tries his best to save the situation.

 

“Come on, let’s go back to the common room.” He says, gently tapping both Rowan and Tiffany on the arm. Tiffany shakes her head.

 

“No go on ahead, we have things to do.”

 

He looks conflicted, but walks away with the rest of the Ravenclaws and Slytherins, while Tiffany lags behind with Merula and Rowan. Rowan looks a little nervous, Merula is looking too smug, and Tiffany knows there’s something she’s holding back.

  
“Spit it out, Snyde.” Tiffany demands. “Do you know what happened to Ben?”

 

“I know more than you.” Merula taunts. “I know that even when people are missing, they’re exactly where they’re supposed to be.”

 

“What are you talking about?” Rowan asks, subtly putting a hand on Tiffany’s right arm, apparently wary of her friend’s increasing temper.

 

“There are things happening at this school that you two couldn’t even begin to understand.” Merula rolls her eyes as though she were talking to two idiots, rather than two of the smartest students in the year. “Trying to uncover those things is going to get you killed.”

 

“The Vaults?” Tiffany tries to shake her arm free of Rowan’s grip, but her friend only holds on tighter.

 

“Did Ben go looking for them?” Rowan adds.

 

“You’ll learn everything soon enough.” Merula starts walking away, sauntering like she owns the school. “Unless you die first!”

 

“If you aren’t going to be any help, then leave us alone!” Tiffany shouts after her. Rowan’s grip keeps her in place for just long enough that Merula turns the corner and is out of sight. In all honesty, Tiffany probably wouldn’t have tried to fight Merula; Snape is too close, still in his classroom only metres away. Knowing her luck, she would have landed herself with a week of detention if she’d attempted anything. It’s nice knowing that Rowan is looking out for her, though.

 

“Are you ready to search the Artefact Room now?” Rowan asks, “We have a few hours before dinner.”

 

“Yeah, let’s go.”

 

* * *

 

Tiffany lets out a small whine as she gets a paper cut on some scrolls. Rowan is an awful friend who only laughs at her misfortune. They’ve already spent the better part of an hour searching the room, pulling books off of shelves, and even looking inside of a skull, that for some reason has ear muffs on.

 

“I wonder if there are any boggarts in here.” Rowan muses, briefly holding up a glittering necklace before tossing it aimlessly over her shoulder.

 

“Maybe there’s one in here?” Tiffany struggles to open a cabinet. All the others had opened easily, but this on seems to be locked. “Alohomora!”

  
“Wait!”

 

The cabinet opens.

 

Inside, is a note.

 

“What does it say?” Rowan reaches forward to take it. “Does it belong to Ben?”

 

“Maybe?” Tiffany squishes in close to Rowan, so she can read what’s written. “Doesn’t he hide in here a lot?”

 

“Yeah he does…”

 

Rowan trails off, and Tiffany knows why. The letter is written in code, but it looks different to the code used in the room with the Cursed Ice from last year. Tiffany doesn’t have the knowledge to decipher it, but Rowan likely has something that can help.

 

“I think I can figure it out, but it’ll take some time.” Rowan says, apologetically. “I’ve got a book that should help.”

 

Tiffany hopes for Ben’s sake that Rowan figures it out sooner rather than later.

* * *

 

Something is shaking Tiffany, and she grumbles, half asleep, trying to push whatever it is off of her. The shaking becomes more persistent, and eventually Tiffany manages to open her eyes, blinking sleepily as she realises what the shaking was; Rowan is wide awake, and holds the note in her hand.

 

“I figured it out!”

 

“Huh?”

 

“The code! I’ve deciphered it.” Rowan whispers. “It says; ‘Your next instructions have been transfigured into a Black Quill, and hidden in the Gryffindor Common Room. Failure to follow your instructions will result in severe punishment. –R.’”

 

“Who’s ‘R’?” Tiffany asks slowly sitting up, rubbing at her eyes. “Instructions? What?”

 

“I think you might have been right, Tiffany. About someone taking Ben.” Rowan seems oblivious to Tiffany’s tiredness. A quick glance at the clock confirms that it’s 2:30 am. “I think this ‘R’ must have done something to him.”

 

“That’s… not good?”

 

“No, it’s not! We need to find this Black Quill. And we need to learn reparifarge, to be able to untransfigure it. Our main problem is finding a way into the Gryffindor common room.”

 

“Can’t we just ask Charlie?”

 

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to get anyone else involved.” Rowan shakes her head. “I mean, unless we have no other choice. Ben’s already in trouble, I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

 

“Hm.”

 

“Are you listening, Tiffany?”

 

“Yeah… you… make a plan. I’ll learn spells.” Tiffany yawns. “Can I sleep, now?”

 

“Oh! Of course. Good night!”

* * *

 

They have transfiguration on Wednesday, after History of Magic. McGonagall still looks tired, but whereas with many people looking tired simply makes them look just so, it serves to make the transfiguration professor look more stern and frightening than before.

 

“How’s the plan coming?” Tiffany whispers to Rowan as they unpack their textbooks.

 

“So far I have fifteen different plans for getting into the room, but I doubt any of them will be successful.” Rowan confesses, before McGonagall coughs sharply. They turn their attention to the front, and nearly recoil in horror. On the desk is what looks to be a cross between a cat and a cauldron. Andre nearly gags. The only other person besides McGonagall in the room who appears unaffected is Tulip Karasu.

 

“Today we will be learning a spell to undo transfigurations. It is particularly useful in situations where a transfiguration has gone wrong, just like this attempt and turning a cat into a cauldron.” McGonagall brandishes her wand, and points it at the abomination on her desk. “Reparifarge!”

 

The cauldron cat morphs back into a large grey tom cat, that looks very confused. Tiffany feels bad for him, and wonders what it must have been like, to be caught between animal and object. It can’t have been fun.

 

“Now, open your text books!”

* * *

 

“Show me what you’ve learnt, Miss Pemberton.” McGonagall says, standing over Tiffany’s desk. Tiffany had gone exceptionally pale earlier (a true feat, given that her skin is already worryingly pale) at being given her own cauldron cat abomination, and she’s more than happy to help the poor creature out.

 

“Reparifarge!”

 

The spell goes perfectly first time. Rowan looks giddy, and Andre seems impressed. Jane Potts rolls her eyes, knowing that Tiffany’s ego will likely only be inflated with this success. McGonagall seems… genuinely impressed.

 

“This is the first time in years that I’ve seen someone cast that spell so flawlessly first time.” She praises Tiffany, who is busy petting the poor cat. “Your skill in transfiguration belies your years, Miss Pemberton. Would you be interested in some advanced transfiguration lessons outside of classes?”

 

Tiffany’s face lights up like a Christmas tree. “Yes, Ma’am!”

 

“Oh no.” Jane whispers.

 

“Very well, Miss Pemberton. You will receive an owl when it is time for your lesson.” McGonagall then goes over to Andre’s table, to see his results. Tiffany turns to Rowan, who gives her a thumbs up. This could prove useful, after all.

* * *

 

“And Miss Pemberton, take ten points for Ravenclaw!” McGonagall calls out as the class packs up and leaves. Andre makes his way to the girls.

 

“That was so cool, Tiffany!” He gushes. “Can you help me with transfiguration?”

 

“Only if you help me learn how to fly like you at some point.” Tiffany says. “How’s training going, anyway?”

 

“It’s going great!”

 

“As great as Gryffindor’s training?”

 

Charlie Weasley seems to have materialised out of nowhere, grinning. His presence wouldn’t be too much of a shock, seeing as they have charms next, and he’s in their class. The shock is that he’s suspiciously early for someone who should have just come from potions. Even stranger, there are leaves caught in his ponytail.

 

“Charlie, did you… go to class?” Rowan asks slowly.

 

“I went to… a class. Today.” Charlie says. Tiffany and Andre raise their eyebrows at him. “Okay, I was… exploring.”

 

“What were you exploring?” Tiffany asks.

 

“That is for me to know.” Charlie says, marching ahead of the group. “Come on, we’re going to be late!”

 

“That boy.” Tiffany sighs, and the three Ravenclaws follow their friend down the corridor to Charms class. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merula is always such a bitch, and I love it. I'm still not sure why Merula is still bothered with Tiffany (or whoever your MC is) but she is, and she's awful, and I love her. It's so unnecessary and 100% petty. 
> 
> (Also, Charlie was definitely exploring the forbidden forest, in case any of you were wondering.)
> 
> Thanks to people who have left kudos, and James018 for commenting!


	5. Growing and Shrinking

“Tiffany!” Rowan comes running towards Tiffany where she’s lounging on the Castle Grounds with the rest of their friend group. She’s been watching a game of chess between Tonks and Andre, which is in its fifth rematch, as Tonks can’t seem to accept the fact that she’s losing. Penny and Charlie are trying to provide insight and advice, but Tonks is determined not to listen.

 

“Yeah?” Tiffany looks up, and uses her hand to shield the run from her eyes. “What’s up?”

 

“I need to talk to you!” Rowan doubles over slightly, hands on her knees as she tries to get her breath back. The others all look up at her, slightly concerned. Rowan is far from athletic, so it doesn’t take much to get her out of breath. “Privately!”

 

“Well… okay.” Tiffany makes her goodbyes to the others, giving Tonks a quick bit of advice that she knows will get ignored, and stands to follow Rowan, who is still breathing quite heavily even as they walk together.

 

Rowan leads Tiffany back to the tower, and ends up having to stifle a laugh at the offended expression on Tiffany’s face once she spots Chester helping one of the first years, a blonde girl called Eliza with her homework.

 

They enter the dorm, which is thankfully empty of the other inhabitants, probably due to it being a Sunday afternoon with reasonably good weather. No doubt the other three girls are enjoying the day outside.

 

“I have a plan. One that I think could work.”

 

“To find Ben?” Tiffany clarifies, taking a seat on her bed. She kicks her shoes off, which Rowan frowns at.

 

“Yes. But… I’m not sure you’ll like it.” Rowan looks a little apprehensive.

 

“He’s been gone over a month now, Rowan.” Tiffany points out. “Besides, I want to know who this R person is. Tell me what you’ve got planned.”

 

“Next month is the Gryffindor versus Slytherin quidditch match, right?”

 

“Right.”

 

“Which means everyone will be there, watching!” Rowan explains. “So we can sneak into the Gryffindor common room then!”

 

“There are two flaws in your plan, Rowan.” Tiffany says, a little reluctantly. “I mean; this is our friend’s first quidditch match! We ought to be there for Charlie. Plus, you’re missing the ‘how’ part of the plan.”

 

“I was getting to the how.” Rowan sulks. “I feel bad about missing Charlie’s first match, but once we have Ben back we’ll tell him why we did it, and he’ll be fine!”

 

“Okay…”

 

“Also, we’re going to cover a couple of very important spells in Charms over the next few weeks.” Rowan grins. “You’re going to shrink yourself using reducio, and then slip into the Gryffindor Common Room as other students leave. No one will see you!”

 

Tiffany blinks twice, slowly. She takes a moment to truly register what Rowan has said.

  
“Rowan that plan is… dangerous.” Tiffany starts. “And I don’t like it. And… why do I have to the one to get shrunk?”

 

“You’re the brave one!”

 

“I’m not brave!” This fact is highlighted by the fact that her voice seems to have risen two octaves. “Rowan, this could go really badly!”

 

“I… I know.” Rowan confesses. “But I don’t know how else to do it without dragging someone else into this mess. If you can come up with your own plan that doesn’t involve putting another friend in danger before that Quidditch match, I’ll go along with whatever it is, okay?”

 

This is probably about as much of a compromise as Tiffany will get.

 

“Okay.”

* * *

 

“You look pale.” Charlie says to Tiffany as they walk into Charms. It’s an accurate observation; she’s been staying up late trying to find another way to sneak into Gryffindor Tower without anyone else’s help, and today is also the day she has to learn the spell that Rowan wants her to cast _on herself._

 

Needless to say, she’s a little anxious.

 

“Thanks, Charlie.” Is what she says, instead of getting annoyed at him.

 

“Make sure you pay attention today!” Rowan reminds her a few moments later, as she moves to take her seat. Rather than following behind her, Tiffany decides to speak with Flitwick first.

 

“Sir?” She asks shyly. Flitwick looks down at her from his stack of books, eyebrows raised.

 

“How can I help you, Miss Pemberton?”

 

“I have. A question. About the shrinking charm?” She can hear Billingsley talking loudly to Luisa at the back of the room, and she tunes them out.

 

“Very well.”

 

“Does it… work on humans? Can you control how small it makes you shrink? Is it safe?”

 

“Using the shrinking charm to shrink oneself would be complicated, dangerous, and not to mention; extremely foolish.” Flitwick frowns at her, and she gulps nervously.

 

“I don’t disagree, Sir.” She glances towards Rowan, who tries to look innocent.

 

“I am going to ask you a question, Miss Pemberton. I strongly suggest you tell the truth if you wish to avoid severe punishment.”

 

“Okay, Sir.”

 

“Are you planning to break school rules yet again?”

 

“I would very much like to avoid breaking school rules, Sir.” Tiffany says, and it’s… well it’s not a lie in this instance. She would rather not go through with this plan, but she knows she likely will. “But I think… I might end up doing that anyway.”

 

Flitwick looks unimpressed.

 

“I’m only doing it to find Ben! I promise to try my best not to break school rules!”

 

Flitwick sighs. “I’m concerned about Mr Copper as well, but the Headmaster has the situation under control. You should stay out of it, and not use the shrinking charm on yourself.

 

_Obviously not, if McGonagall has asked me and Rowan to help then this situation is far from under control._

 

“Yes, Sir.”

* * *

 

Tiffany spends most of her evenings now sat in the common room, alternating between using the shrinking and growing charm on every object she can find, and trying to find another way into the stupid Gryffindor Common Room.

 

“I think you know how to cast that spell now.” A familiar voice says from above her, clearly amused. “What are you up to?”

 

“Nothing, Chester.” Tiffany says, pushing the water goblet she’d been practicing on to one side and moving over, so Chester can sit next to her.

 

“I highly doubt it’s nothing.” Chester says, tapping her on the nose. “You can tell me. I’m a cool prefect.”

 

Tiffany actually laughs at that. “It’s really nothing important, Chester. I’m just…”

 

“Just?”

 

“You know, I really would tell you, but you’ll try to stop me.” Tiffany decides. “But just so you know, technically McGonagall gave me permission to do this, so it’s nothing for you to worry about.”

 

“That does not reassure me at all, Tiffany.” Chester comments. “But, I won’t ask any more questions about it if you promise me something.”

 

“What?”

 

“That you at least try to be safe?” His expression is a mixture of sternness, and genuine concern.

 

“I’ll try.” Tiffany promises.

 

“That’s all I ask, dipshit.”

 

“Chester!” Tiffany gasps. “You swore!”

 

“Oh shut it.” He pushes her playfully, and she grins back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters, in one day. Whoo! Ngl I've spent about 75% of my waking hours today writing. It's been so good. 
> 
> As I'm working through the chapters for this year, I'm realising there's a lot I'm going to have to rewrite in year 3 and four if I want it to stay consistent. So that's kind of annoying, but also sort of nice? 
> 
> Also! Chester gets to interact with Tiffany in this chapter! He was barely in it in this bit of the game (or at least, according to my notes and from what I gathered watching bits of play throughs. The WillBits one is good, although he keeps making different choices to me). I love writing for him, and I think he's one of my favourite characters. Along with Charlie. He's a bigger part in my version of this because I would actually die for Charlie Weasley (my ace bro), and I am not going to apologise for that.
> 
> Thanks again to people who leave kudos, and comments (especially James018!), and also anyone who is just reading!


	6. The Black Quill

“Are you ready?” Rowan asks, and Tiffany nods mutely, vaguely aware of how sweaty her palms are, and overwhelmingly annoyed that she couldn’t come up with a better plan. The other girls have already left to go to breakfast, and to avoid suspicion, they decided that Tiffany would shrink herself in the dorm, and Rowan would carry her to Gryffindor. This way, no one would ever actually see Tiffany near the tower, and hopefully they can get away with the plan. She gives herself a moment to breathe, before casting the spell.

 

“Reducio!”

 

Tiffany doesn’t want to go into details, but shrinking fucking sucks.

 

What also sucks, is having your now seemingly giant best-friend squeal at how cute you are.

 

“Oh, Tiffany! You just look too sweet!” Rowan gushes, bending down and letting Tiffany crawl into her hands. Tiffany glares up at her. She would speak, but she’s scared that her voice will be all squeaky. She doesn’t need any extra embarrassment. “I’ll put you in my bag, hold on.”

 

Tiffany can tell you that being dropped into someone’s satchel is not a pleasant experience. There’s all sorts of dust and small bits of rubbish in there, and it smells kind of musty. What’s worse though, is being in the satchel when the wearer is walking along. She spends the next couple of minutes being jostled uncomfortably, and she’s certain she’s going to have a bruise on her hip when this is all done.

 

She shields her eyes from light when Rowan opens the satchel again, and delicately reaches in to let Tiffany out.

 

“I’m going to wait over here.” Rowan says, keeping to one end of the corridor. “You need to wait by the portrait hole for someone to leave, and then slip in before they can close the door.”

 

Tiffany nods to show she understands.

 

“Try not to get crushed!”

 

Rowan bends down again and lets Tiffany hop off her hand, and Tiffany waves goodbye as she runs along the corridor. It’s quite far when you’re less than five inches tall, and she feels very out of breath by the time she reaches the bottom of the portrait hole. A few first years eventually leave, and Tiffany just manages to climb through the entrance to the common room in time before she gets squished to death as it closes. She has to quickly hide behind a chair when she sees a couple of older boys, one she recognises as Charlie’s older brother only when she hears his friends congratulating him on having his little brother join the quidditch team. She waits, holding her breath until they all leave. Once she’s certain she’s in the clear, she casts engorgio on herself, and returns to her normal size. Her lungs take a second or two to get used to the change in size, and only when her breathing is back to normal and the room stops spinning does she get to work.

 

The Gryffindor common room looks much warmer than the Ravenclaw one. With red armchairs and sofas, and a large roaring fire place. It’s cosy and homely, and… nice. Or at least, it was nice. Now she’s busy pulling cushions away from chairs and opening drawers to desks, and it doesn’t take long for the room to start looking like a bomb site. She grimaces when she finds a bacon sandwich tucked behind a sofa. It takes a while longer, but soon she finds a black quill, hidden behind a stack of textbooks.

 

With the black quill in hand, she leaves the room as fast as possible, and slams into an angry looking Angelica Cole, Gryffindor Prefect.

 

Who is standing next to Professor McGonagall.

 

Rowan is there too, looking guilty as sin.

 

Ah, shit.

 

“Hello, everyone!” Tiffany says, a little high pitched. She’s still a little shaken after shrinking herself down. “Nice to… see you?”

 

“I was going to warn you, Tiffany, but Professor McGonagall’s stern stare stopped me.” Rowan confesses.

 

“That’s enough, Miss Khanna.” McGonagall’s stare really is stern. “Angelica returned to ensure that Slytherin’s weren’t trying to sneak into the Gryffindor common room. When she found Miss Khanna acting suspicious she did the right thing and found me, and now I find you, Miss Pemberton, leaving the Gryffindor common room. A place you are forbidden to enter. Explain.”

 

“I was trying to look for Ben!” Tiffany says. “You told us to help look for him!”

 

“Why did you think sneaking into our common room would help you find him?” Angelica asks.

 

“I was looking for clues. He might have been hiding in plain sight?”

 

McGonagall looks at her like she only half believes her.

 

“Well. You definitely did your duty in trying to find your friend.” She finally concedes. “Ten points to Ravenclaw.”

 

“You’re not punishing them?” Angelica protests.

 

“No. Because I know they will never attempt to sneak into another house’s common room again. Correct?”

 

“Yes, Ma’am!” Tiffany confirms.

 

“Now be on your way.”

* * *

 

“What do you mean you didn’t watch?” Charlie asks at dinner, looking hurt. “That was my first match!”

 

“I know, Charlie. And we’re really sorry!” Rowan says.

 

“We were looking for Ben. We needed your common room to be empty so I could sneak in and look for him. Although, congratulations on winning?”

 

“You could have asked me to look!”

 

“I know, I did mention that.” Tiffany says, with a look towards Rowan. “But well… there was… a thing.”

 

“A thing?”

 

“A thing.” Rowan confirms. “We would tell you guys!”

 

The rest of their friends look at them suspiciously.

 

“Really, we would. We just… don’t want anyone else to get into trouble!”

 

“How did you even manage to get in?” Tonks asks, eyes wide.

 

“I… used reducio on myself.” Tiffany confesses. “Snuck in when some Gryffindors were leaving.”

 

“That sounds dangerous!” Penny scolds.

 

“You really should have just asked for my help.”

 

Rowan coughs guiltily. “Sorry…”

* * *

 

Back in their own common room, Tiffany leans her head on Rowan’s shoulder as they both stare at the black quill on the desk in front of them.

 

“We should… untransfigure this.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You’re not feeling any… adverse effects are you? After…”

 

“I’m fine, Rowan. Don’t worry.” Tiffany shifts so she can draw her wand. “Reparifarge!”

 

The quill shakes, and then unfolds itself into a note.

 

_Proceed to the farthest corridor at the east end of the fifth floor. Transfigure this scroll back into a black quill, and return it to the Gryffindor common room. Failure to follow your instructions will result in severe punishment._

_-R._

“This guy sure has a thing about punishment.” Tiffany comments. “I don’t appreciate this chase we’re being lead on.”

 

“Neither do I.” Rowan says. “You don’t think… Ben got… punished?”

 

“Don’t say it like that.”

 

“Sorry!”

 

“What’s even in that corridor?”

 

“Nothing that I know of… no one ever goes in there.” Rowan frowns. “Why was Ben supposed to put the quill back where he found it?”

 

“Maybe he isn’t the only one receiving instructions?”

 

“I have a bad feeling about this.” Rowan sighs. “We should tell a Professor.”

 

“Right.” Tiffany quickly re transfigures the note back into a quill. “You need to get this back into the Gryffindor common room, get Charlie to help, and also find a Professor to let them know what we found. I’m… going to get Penny.”

 

“Why?”

 

“To search that corridor!”

* * *

 

The door to the Hufflepuff common room swings open, and Penny emerges; dressed in her nightclothes with a dressing gown draped over the top.

 

“Nice slippers, Pen.”

 

They’re remarkably fluffy.

 

“Thanks. What did you need?” Penny yawns.

  
“Rowan and I found a clue about Ben.” Tiffany says. “Come with me?”

 

Penny doesn’t even hesitate before she’s nodding and walking along with Tiffany.

 

“You two did upset Charlie, you know.” Penny says as they head up the stairs.

 

Tiffany winces. “I know. We just… Rowan was scared about dragging him into this. You’re already kind of involved after last year… so…”

 

“I know.” Penny smiles. “Just try to make it up to him?”

 

“I will.” Tiffany promises.

* * *

 

The eastern corridor on the fifth floor is filled with ice. Large blocks of it, and frost covering the walls. Tiffany’s jaw drops, and Penny grabs her hand.

 

“What the shit?” Tiffany breathes. “Pen, what the shit?”

 

“I don’t know, Tiff.” Penny whispers back. “But… is that… Ben?”

 

She points, and stuck in some ice, is a familiar figure.

  
“Oh my God.” Tiffany is shaking, and not just from the cold; because the room is freezing. “Pen, this is… did we do this?”

 

“Step aside, girls.”

 

They both turn to see McGonagall and Snape striding towards them.

 

“I found Ben, Ma’am!” Tiffany says. McGonagall ignores her, and both she and Professor Snape continue walking down the corridor until they reach Ben. The only acknowledgement they get is from Snape telling them to not touch the ice.

 

They watch in amazement and horror as the Professors do their best to reassure Ben that he’s all right, and then in horror when the spells they cast have no effect on the ice.

 

“Oh, fuck.” Tiffany whispers.

 

“Language, Tiff!” Penny scolds.

 

Their horror increases when Snape decides to cast fire on the ice to melt it. Tiffany is sure that Ben is going to be injured, and Penny has to grab onto her to stop her from trying to save Ben.

 

“Come on.” Penny says, “They’ve got in under control, and it’s late.”

 

Tiffany lets Penny lead her out of the corridor, but glances behind her one last time to see for herself that Snape doesn’t accidentally kill Ben.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't shrink yourselves, guys. It's a bad idea. 
> 
> Also, they've found Ben now! Finally! It's only been a couple of months. And poor Charlie, he's just had his first Quidditch match and he finds out some of his friends didn't go! Thankfully Charlie is a great guy (just see year 4 in the game for proof) so it's all okay. 
> 
> Is anyone else curious as to who R is? I have theories, but the game still hasn't confirmed it so I've no idea if I'm right or not. I can tell you I don't think Ben IS R, but I certainly think he works for them, but whether that's voluntary or not is up for debate. 
> 
> Thanks to LuciusWalker for commenting last chapter!
> 
> And thank you to everyone who is reading this story, I hope you're enjoying it!


	7. Revelio

The others try to visit Ben the next morning, but are turned away by Madam Pomfrey. Ben apparently hasn’t woken since the Cursed Ice incident. Tiffany denies her concern, but doubts that the others believe her.

 

“How long do you think he was stuck in that ice?” Tiffany asks Rowan in the evening, lounging in the common room. Rowan and Andre are sat on one of the sofas, and Tiffany lounges on the floor, reading her Charms Textbook.

 

“It can’t have been too long.” Andre points out. “He would have died of hypothermia, or starvation or something.”

 

“Yeah.” Tiffany agrees, although something doesn’t quite add up in her mind. She daren’t talk about it though, Rowan is insistent that the others don’t know about this ‘R’ person yet. It’s… annoying, to say the least. It makes discussing the situation difficult for fear of letting something slip. Rowan seems to notice the frown on Tiffany’s face, and offers her a sugar quill, which Tiffany accepts gratefully. The feeling that something isn’t right doesn’t leave.

* * *

She nervously pushes the door to the Hospital Wing open. Tiffany hadn’t planned on seeing Ben after Rowan had visited him the night before, saying he seemed to be recovering, but Rowan had insisted she go. Apparently he’d been asking for her, and Rowan seems to think that this visit could also help them find out more about R and the Vaults. Why Rowan can’t be the one to do this, Tiffany doesn’t know, but once Penny had found out that Ben had asked for Tiffany she’d pushed and pushed, so here she is.

 

“Ben was asking for me?” She says once she sees Madam Pomfrey, who looks at her with a stern expression.

  
“He was.” Pomfrey confirms. “You can visit if you promise not to cause any trouble.”

 

“I promise.” Tiffany grins. “Is Ben going to be okay?”  

 

“I believe so. His memory is erratic, but I have seen patients recover from far worse.” Pomfrey soothes. “This way, Miss Pemberton.”

 

Madam Pomfrey leads Tiffany over to a bed in the far corner, where Tiffany can now see Ben lying in it. He still looks pale and tired, but at least he’s not stuck in ice anymore.

 

“Mr Copper has been through quite an ordeal, and may still be suffering from bouts of delirium.” Pomfrey warns. “He’s in a delicate state, so I can’t permit you to stay for more than ten minutes.”

 

Tiffany thanks her, and sits in the wooden chair by Ben’s bed.

 

“Hey, Tiffany.” Ben croaks, a little pathetically.

 

“How are you?” Tiffany asks, suddenly feeling a little shy.

 

“Cold, tired. Not that different from usual.” Ben confesses.

 

“Do you want me to bring the others to cheer you up?” Tiffany offers. “Oh! Penny even gave me this card that the others signed to give to you.”

 

Tiffany pulls the card out of her bag. It’s a bit… well it’s made out of a folded up piece of parchment that Penny drew on. The art isn’t that bad, but the card itself is a little crumpled form being in her bag.

 

“No, it’s okay.” Ben says, even as he smiles at the card. “Seeing a friendly face is more than enough. Madam Pomfrey is great, but she’s a little…”

 

“Stern?”

 

“Yes, that.”

 

“So… what were you doing in that corridor? And who is R?” Tiffany asks. “How did you get trapped in the ice?”

 

“I don’t remember.” Ben says. “I can hardly remember anything at all… Madam Pomfrey says it must be a side effect of the Cursed Ice.”

 

“You’re joking, right?”

 

“No, sorry.” Ben certainly looks apologetic. Tiffany finds this… odd. Penny and Rowan have also been trapped in Cursed Ice before, but neither of them lost any memories for it. Although, they also didn’t go missing for over two months.

 

“What about the letters Rowan and I found?” Tiffany prods. “That’s how we managed to find you. They led us to the corridor.”

 

“I’m sorry, Tiffany. I just don’t remember.”

 

Tiffany maintains eye contact with him for a few moments, trying to see if he is lying before giving up and sighing.

 

“Why don’t you tell me what’s been happening since I went missing?” Ben asks, and Tiffany is reluctant to change topic, but knows she won’t get any further.

 

“Half our friends are on their Quidditch teams now.” Tiffany says. “Charlie is seeker for your house, and he won the match the other day. He’s a bit annoyed at me and Rowan for missing it, but I think he’s forgiven us since Rowan gave him some sweets her parents sent her.”

 

“That’s cool!”

* * *

 Ben still hasn’t been released from the Hospital Wing, but Tiffany’s group of friends is still noticeably happier now that he’s been found.

 

“I’m proud of you for going to see Ben.” Penny says one evening during a study session in the library. Rowan is busy helping Andre and Tonks with their History of Magic essay, and Charlie has wandered off to look for books on magical creatures, and seems to have been lured into conversation with Liz Tuttle.

 

“What do you mean?” Tiffany asks, poking her tongue out as she tries to work on her potions homework.

 

“I mean; it was actually a nice thing for you to do.” Penny points to the last line that Tiffany just wrote. “That’s not right, by the way. Here, look at what I’ve written.”

 

“I only wanted to see what he knew about…” Tiffany trails off, unsure of how much she should say, and also busy trying to read Penny’s small handwriting.

 

“About R?” Penny asks. “He told me about your conversation. I know you went there looking for information, but you stayed as long as you could just to chat with him, and it really cheered him up.”

 

“Well uh… okay?”

 

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you did a nice thing.” Penny teases. “I know you have your bad girl reputation to keep.”

 

“I don’t have a bad girl reputation.” Tiffany mutters, ignoring the blush appearing on her cheeks, and focusing intently on getting this stupid essay written.

* * *

 

Andre is out at quidditch practice, which means that Tiffany and Rowan are free to sneak back to the corridor without any of their friends knowing. The ice has grown, and Tiffany’s teeth are chattering.

 

“I don’t like that Penny knows about R.” Rowan says, sounding serious. Tiffany wrinkles her nose at this.

 

“What’s so bad about Pen knowing?” She asks. “She’s already more involved than the others, she came with us to that room, and with me to the corridor where Ben was. Besides, maybe she can help us figure out who this person is.”

  
“I don’t know; I just feel like they’re… dangerous.” Rowan brushes a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear. “Anyway, do you believe Ben?”

 

“Believe him about what?” Tiffany feigns innocence, although she can guess what Rowan will say.

 

“About forgetting everything? Don’t you think it’s suspicious?” Rowan sighs dramatically. “I think he’s hiding something.”

 

“Why would he do that? Rowan, he’s scared of everything. If something was wrong, surely he’d tell us?”

 

“Unless he was too scared to tell us.” Rowan points out. “I feel like he’s keeping secrets, you know?”

 

“Uh… I guess?” Tiffany rubs at her arms. “I think… I think I trust him. Can we keep looking, now?”

 

They look up and down, and Tiffany soon realises that part of the corridor is colder than the rest. There’s a draught coming through the wall.

 

“Rowan! Stand next to me.” Tiffany commands. “Do you feel that?”

 

“Yeah, I do.” Rowan confirms. “Can you… hear something?”

 

“Maybe it’s a hidden passage.” Tiffany suggests. “That’s possible, right?”

 

“Anything is possible at Hogwarts. We’d need to learn revelio to confirm it’s true, though.” Rowan looks thoughtful. “Hasn’t McGonagall offered to give you private transfiguration lessons?”

* * *

 

McGonagall raises an eyebrow at Tiffany, who has stayed behind after class to ask her for her private lessons. Tiffany smiles innocently up at her, and tries not to waiver under her stern glare.

 

“I said I would send an owl when it was time for your lesson, Miss Pemberton.”

 

“I know, Ma’am.” Tiffany agrees. “But I really want to learn this spell!”

 

“And just why is that, Miss Pemberton?”

 

“I… just love transfiguration.” Tiffany says. When McGonagall doesn’t look convinced, she sighs and decides to tell the truth. “I think it might help me solve this whole Cursed Ice thing.”

 

“I appreciate your ambition, Miss Pemberton. However, we have the situation under control.” McGonagall says. Tiffany is having none of it.

 

“Did you tell Jacob the same thing?” She demands. “When he told you about the Vaults. Did you him that you had it under control?”

 

“You are on thin…” McGonagall trails off, unable to finish her sentence once she realises the pun. She sighs. “Come back here later, at eight o’clock. We’ll talk further.”

* * *

 

Apparently, revelio is a much harder spell to learn that Tiffany realises.

 

“Why can’t I get this?” She complains, glaring at the cauldron on the desk in front of them. McGonagall seems to be much more patient.

 

“Try again, Miss Pemberton.” McGonagall says.

 

Tiffany nods. “Revelio!”

 

The cauldron seems to sizzle, and upon closer inspection, Tiffany sees that there’s writing engraved all the way around. She picks it up to read what it says.

 

“Congratulations, you learnt the spell.” She says, and raises an eyebrow. “Thanks, Ma’am.”

 

“You’re welcome, Miss Pemberton. I trust that you will find this spell useful.” She smiles. “Congratulations, that was not an easy thing to learn for one so young.”

* * *

 

Tiffany is exhausted by the time she gets back to Ravenclaw tower. A quick look at her watch confirms that she’d spent over an hour trying to learn that spell. It takes her three attempts to get through the entrance to the common room, and she finds Rowan waiting up for her, already dressed in pyjamas and reading by candlelight.

 

“Tiffany!” She’s on her feet. “Did you learn the spell?”

  
“Sure did.” She yawns. “Do you want to go search that corridor again?”

 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Tiffany.” Rowan says. “You look tired. Besides, if we wait until Sunday morning, everyone will still be asleep after celebrating the quidditch match on Saturday.”

 

“Good plan.” Tiffany says. “Do you think we’ll win?”

 

“With Andre on the team? Of course I do!”

* * *

 

Sunday morning is particularly sleepy for Ravenclaw tower, as Rowan was right in predicting that Ravenclaw would win the match, and also correct in thinking that everyone would still be asleep after celebrations. It had been a close call though; for all of Tonks’ clumsiness on the ground, she’s an excellent flyer and the Hufflepuff chasers put up a good fight. There’s a bruise now on Tiffany’s arm from where Ben had gripped it too hard when he thought someone was going to get hit with a bludger. She’d nearly snapped at him, Cursed Ice thing be damned, but a glare from the other Ravenclaws had stopped her. Now, her and Rowan have headed back to the corridor on the fifth floor to investigate the hidden passage. 

 

“Here we are!” Rowan says, coming to a halt in front of the wall. “Cast the spell, Tiffany.”

 

“Revelio!”

 

The wall fades away to reveal a staircase, and Tiffany almost drops her wand.

 

It’s just like her vision.

 

“Merlin’s beard, Tiffany!” Rowan exclaims. “You’ve unveiled- hey, are you all right? You’ve gone kind of pale.”

 

“Yeah. I’m good.” Tiffany manages to get out. “This is… I’ve seen this before, Rowan.”

 

“Huh? When?”

 

“My vision, that I had in the artefact room last year.”

 

“Oh, when you fainted!”

  
“I didn’t faint!” Tiffany protests, and instantly she can feel colour return into her cheeks. “We should tell a Professor about this.”

 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Rowan says.

 

“Why?”

 

“They’ll never let us come back if here if they know what we’ve found!” Rowan insists. “What about your brother, Tiffany?”

 

“Low blow, but fine.” Tiffany frowns. “Just… be careful. And don’t touch anything!”

 

They head up the stairs together, although Tiffany does her best to stay slightly in front of Rowan.  At the top of the stairs is a large set of doors that they both push open together, too weak to manage on their own. As they step through, both of their jaws drop. It’s even colder in here than downstairs, but what’s impressive is the whole corridor they stand in. It looks ancient, suits of armour lining the wall. At the far end of the corridor is another set of doors, these ones seemingly made out of ice. There are muddy footprints leading up to them.

  
“It’s unnaturally cold.” Rowan stammers. “I feel like my brain is slowing down.”

 

“Same.” Tiffany whispers back, too in awe to register what Rowan is saying. “Do you think this is a Vault? Do you think Jacob was here?”

 

“Only one way to find out. Come on!”

 

Rowan races ahead, and Tiffany chases after her. Rowan, curious as every Ravenclaw is, but perhaps lacking in some good old common sense, reaches out and touches the large snowflake sculpture barricading the door, and immediately gets blasted backwards by a burst of blue light, ending up sprawled on the ground. Unconscious.

 

“Of for fuck’s sake.” Is all Tiffany can say as she kneels down at her friend’s side. “Rowan!”

 

She lightly taps her friend’s cheek, but there’s no response.

 

“Rowan!” She says again, panicking slightly now. “Oh, Jesus.”

 

She can hardly go and fetch help without someone stopping her from ever coming back, so the only thing she can do is carry her friend, at least far enough from this corridor that the Professor’s won’t suspect too much. She stuffs her wand into her back pocket, and tries to lift Rowan.

 

She can’t.

 

Or well, she can; but not for longer than about half a second before her arms start to feel like jelly.

 

This is not going well.

 

She gets up and leans against what she thinks is the wall behind her for support, but her hand comes into contact with the door.

 

Unlike Rowan, she’s not blasted backwards.

 

_She’s in a room, dark and filled with books. She blinks and then she’s in another, cluttered and messy with a door outlined in chalk. She blinks again, and sees a figure she’s only ever seen in nightmares._

_Voldemort._

She stumbles, catching her breath, and holding her hand close to her chest as though it’s been burnt. It’s freaky, and she doesn’t appreciate having a vision when she’s trying to save her friend’s life, so rather than dwell on it she gets back to work. The vision will have to wait.

 

After a few more failed attempts at lifting Rowan, she remembers a very important piece of information.

 

She’s a witch.

  
“Wingardium leviosa!”

 

She levitates Rowan down the stairs and through the icy corridor, and manages to run into one person who she really wishes she didn’t have to see right now.

 

Chester Davies is stood at the top of the stairs, still dressed in his pyjamas, apparently just having eaten his breakfast if the jam stain on his top is any indication. He looks surprised at first, but then his features slowly turn into one of annoyance.

 

“What have you done?”

 

“Nothing! Rowan… fainted.” Tiffany lies. “Can you help?”

 

He rolls his eyes, but accepts Tiffany’s excuse at first, stepping forwards and seemingly plucking Rowan out of the air, holding her delicately. He frowns, and his eyes flicker to some frost on Tiffany’s clothes. Their eyes meet, and she knows he’s figured out where they’ve been.

 

“Go back to the common room, Tiffany.” He instructs. “I won’t tell Pomfrey what happened. This way you can stay out of trouble.”

 

“I can’t just leave Rowan!” She protests. “I’m coming too!”

 

“No, Tiff.” He sounds stern. “I’ve got it.”

 

Tiffany stops, and watches sadly as Chester leaves, and knows that he’s right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was actually going to be in two parts; I was going to write more for the Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw quidditch match but when I got to it I just didn't have the inspiration. One the bright side though, it's made chapter titles easier for me! 
> 
> Tiffany pulling the Jacob card of McGonagall was probably not the right thing for her to do, and it's the sort of thing that I would be too scared to say if I were in her shoes. But, I've been wondering in the game why all the teachers are so willing to help the MC when they know they'll only run off to find the Vaults. In my opinion, I think they know that Jacob's sibling will try and find the Vaults with or without their help, and so they're doing what they can to stay in the loop and keep an eye on them. 
> 
> Thank you to James018 for commenting last chapter!


	8. Rowan's Recovery

Potions when Ben was missing was bad enough. Merula had been annoying then, but now that Rowan is laid up in the hospital wing, she’s only increased her taunts. Without Rowan there to keep Tiffany in check, Andre has been trying his best to stay in-between the bickering witches, with little success. As a result, both Tiffany and Andre manage to lose ten points each from Snape.

 

After potions they meet up with the rest of their friends to visit Rowan, but Pomfrey is strict and only actually lets two visitors in at a time. Tiffany automatically gets to go first, and with her Penny.

 

“What exactly happened?” Penny asks as they walk to Rowan’s bed.

 

“We uh… we found a Vault.” Tiffany confesses. “Turns out, the Vault didn’t like being found. It seemed to attack Rowan when she touched it.”

 

“You should have told me you were going!” Penny scolds. “I could have helped.”

 

“I know.” Tiffany apologises. “I’m sorry?”

 

“Don’t blame yourself.”

 

Penny and Tiffany jump as Rowan sits up in bed. Her voice is a little rough from disuse, but she seems to be fully awake, aware, and more importantly, not in a coma.

  
“Rowan!” Tiffany grins.

 

“Are you okay?” Penny asks.

 

“I feel like I got run over by the knight bus.” Rowan groans a little. Tiffany and Penny wince in sympathy. “Anyway, do you two have notes from the classes I missed?”

 

Tiffany and Penny look at one another, and then burst out laughing. Trust Rowan to care more about classes and homework than recovery. Unfortunately for them, they get kicked out for causing a disturbance.

* * *

“What do you mean you’re not going to go back to the Vault?” Tiffany asks, horrified. “Rowan! You can’t just bail on me now!”

 

“I’m sorry, Tiffany!” Rowan looks genuinely apologetic, at least. “That was really scary, and I don’t want to get hurt again!”

 

“But you’re the one that wanted to go up the stairs in the first place!” Tiffany points out, folding her arms. “Besides, even with Penny we won’t be able to break the Vault without help!”  


“I know, and I’m really sorry, Tiffany.” Rowan says. “Look, why don’t we… leave the Vault until after Christmas? There’s not much I can do while I’m stuck here anyway.”

 

Tiffany still isn’t particularly happy, but she’ll accept this.

 

“Okay. Try and… get some rest.” Tiffany leaves a little down hearted, and more than a little bit frustrated. Obviously she understands that Rowan was frightened, but God, so was she! Rather than risk shouting at Rowan and upsetting her friend more though, she's made the executive decision to go and sulk in her dormitory. 

* * *

 

“So how’s Khanna doing?” Merula asks, feigning sweetness. “This is what, the second friend you’ve landed in the Hospital Wing trying to find the Vaults?”

 

“Don’t pretend to care about my friends, Snyde.” Tiffany says, desperately trying to focus on her potion, rather than rising to the bait. Andre looks like he wants to die, positioned in the middle of them.

 

“Well anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I have someone helping me look for the Vaults now.”

 

“That’s nice, Snyde.” Tiffany says.

  
“What do we do next?” Andre asks Tiffany, a little loudly. Tiffany turns and helps him anyway, although they both know he’s more than capable. Peace reigns for all of a minute before Merula tries to be annoying again.

 

“I have news about your brother, Pemberton.”

 

“Ignore her.” Andre hisses.

 

“He’s not going to survive much longer; from what I’ve heard.”

 

Tiffany throws bat spleens at her.

* * *

 

Apparently Tiffany has fought with Merula one too many times for Snape’s taste. As such, she’s been (unfairly) given detention and has to stay behind after class to help him brew a potion for Hagrid. Why Hagrid needs a Fire Breathing Potion is beyond Tiffany, but she’s not too mad about this detention. At least she gets to learn something.

 

“I don’t hate Merula, you know.” Tiffany says, dutifully chopping ingredients while Snape stirs the cauldron. “Or well, I do. But it’s her own fault.”

 

Snape hums, and Tiffany is sure he’s only pretending to listen, but she keeps talking anyway.

 

“I mean, she’s just so angry all the time! She can’t stand anyone to be better than her at anything, so she gets all pissy and starts being mean! Plus, she keeps making fun of my friends and Jacob!”

 

“Pemberton, knives are for cutting, not waving around in the air.”

 

“Sorry, Professor. Anyway, it’s like, Merula is super good at potions, but rather than being proud about that, she’s jealous of me because I’m a better dueller! Which is just so stupid because people would probably like her if stopped picking fights over everything all the time and just worked hard! Because, Rowan gets way better grades than me in History of Magic, you know? But I don’t get mad at that because I know that I’m better than her at other things!”

 

“I need the lavender now.”

 

“Of course, sir. And so yeah, Merula and I clash a lot, but if she stopped being such a bitch, I really wouldn’t care about her and everyone’s lives would be easier!”

 

“I see.”

 

Snape seems more than a little weary, for some reason.

* * *

Once her detention helping Snape is over, she’s handed a bottle of the potion, and given instructions to meet Hagrid, worryingly by the corridor she was nearly killed by Devil’s Snare in. Tiffany decides it’s probably best not to ask too many questions. She tries to hand over the potion as soon as she can.

 

“Tiffany! Great to see yeh.” Hagrid greets her warmly. “I have a favour to ask of yeh, if yeh wouldn’ mind?”

 

“Sure.” Tiffany agrees, without hesitation. This is her first mistake.

 

“I need yeh to drink this potion, and breathe fire on the Devil’s Snare.”

 

“Okay.” Tiffany agrees again, albeit a little more hesitantly. This is her second mistake.

 

“My puppy is stuck in there.”

 

“How?” Tiffany asks. “Wait, what if I hurt him?”

* * *

 

Hagrid didn’t seem to listen to Tiffany’s concerns, so in the end she does in fact drink the damned potion, and breathes fire as carefully as she can over the Devil’s Snare until the little black puppy is free and can run out of the cupboard and back to his master. Tiffany coughs a few times after it’s done, and wrinkles her nose at the smoke that comes out of her mouth. She’s thanked, and given instructions to drop by Hagrid’s Hut whenever she feels like it, the invitation extended to her friends too.

 

Once that… ordeal is over she heads back to her dorm, and squeals with delight when she opens to the door to her room and sees a very tired looking Rowan.

 

“Rowan!” She cheers, tackling her friend with a hug. “You’re back!”

 

“Tiffany, you saw me this morning!” Rowan laughs, although she does return the hug. “Also, you’re much later than I thought. I was waiting for you to get back so we could go down for dinner together!”

 

“Yeah, I got detention.” Tiffany confesses shamelessly.

 

“What did you do?” Rowan sighs.

 

“I threw bat spleens at Merula.”

 

“Andre didn’t stop you?”

 

“He tried.”

* * *

 

Dinner is a joyous affair for their friends. Tiffany and Rowan make their entrance in time before the others all leave, and join them all at the Hufflepuff table. They get plenty of glares from other students.

 

“As great as it is to have Rowan back,” Charlie begins, “can we please agree as a group to not have anyone else here end up in the Hospital Wing for the rest of the year?”

 

“I like that sentiment.” Ben comments quietly, but Tonks shakes her head.

 

“Charlie you know that’s an impossible request!” She reminds him.

 

“I can hope, Tonks!” He insists, while Ben looks rather alarmed. He seems to have forgotten that he’s friends with the clumsiest person in the year, adventure seeking rule breakers, and quidditch players. All in all, a dreadful mix for any semblance of health and safety.

 

They spend the rest of the evening in the Great Hall, only kicked out when their Heads of Houses deem it too late for them to be out of bed any longer. In fact, their so reluctant to leave, it takes the combined effort of their prefects to shepherd them out of the Hall. Chester in particular seems very irritable, but Tiffany swears he smiles when she grabs him by the arm and deliberately tries to slow him down.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact; because we don't know much about Andre, I ended up basing part of his personality on my (now former) housemate. Admittedly the guy he's based on is a proud Gryffindor, but Andre's love of quidditch reminded me of my friend's love of football. In fact, when I was deciding what quidditch position to give Andre, I went with what my friend said he would play (seeker). 
> 
> Another fun fact is that Andre dealing with Tiffany and Merula in potions class reminded me of my friend being caught in the middle of a fight between our other housemates. It didn't really help that I disappeared for a couple of weeks to visit my family, leaving him to deal with the situation on his own. Oops!
> 
> I wasn't sure about leaving in the Fang side quest in the story, but I'd written the 'conversation' between Tiffany and Snape, and I couldn't bare to take it out. The thought of Snape having to put up with a talkative twelve year old was too amusing for me to get rid of, so I did my best to keep at least some elements of that quest! It was also quite a sweet one to play as well, although that might just be because I adore Hagrid. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading!


	9. Tiffany's Birthday

Tiffany’s favourite part of the Christmas Holiday this year is that after plenty of whining and begging, she gets to have her friends over to celebrate her birthday. After all, this is her thirteenth birthday, a special occasion. Rowan arrives first, her mother having dropped her off, and Tiffany shamelessly spends the next ten minutes showing off her new denim jacket- a present from Caroline. She immediately opens the present from Rowan, wrapped in plain brown wrapping paper but decorated with hand-drawn stars. It’s a copy of _Break with a Banshee_ , by Gilderoy Lockhart. Rowan assures her that he’s one of the greatest Ravenclaws of his generation.

 

Ben and Penny arrive together, Penny’s mother dropping them off via side along apparition. From Ben she gets a large assortment of various muggle sweets, and it doesn’t take long for Rowan to get her hands on at least some of them. From Penny, however.

 

“You didn’t!” Tiffany gasps, holding up the leather utility belt she’d been eyeing in Diagon Alley months ago. “Penny!”

 

“I can afford it.” Penny smiles. “We have plenty of money, and it seemed like you really liked it. Also, I didn’t get you a Christmas present.”

 

“Thank you, Pen!” Tiffany says sincerely, setting the belt aside with the other gifts.

 

Charlie arrives through the fireplace, and from him Tiffany receives a second hand (or rather, third or fourth hand if the state of it is any indication) copy of Curses and Counter-Curses by Vindictus Viridian. Tonks arrives next, also through the fire place, but with significantly less grace than Charlie. From her, she gets Nose Biting Tea Cup, which will be fondly placed on her desk in her room and left alone.

 

Andre arrives last, also arriving by floo. He gives her a copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages_ , and a wink. Apparently he’s hoping to get her on the quidditch team too, but this isn’t likely to happen.

* * *

 

They take the bus into Bath, and Tiffany has to pay for the whole group, too many of them not used to muggle currency. Personally, she prefers muggle currency over wizarding currency; it’s much easier to add up pennies into pounds than to figure out knuts into sickles into galleons. Thankfully, the purebloods in the group all seem to have used the Knight Bus before, and so aren’t too confused at their surroundings.

 

Ben is positively glowing as they head into the cinema. Rowan, Andre and Charlie seem more than a little bit lost at the muggle setting, so Ben has taken it upon himself to be their guide. Tiffany and Penny end up being left in charge of getting tickets, while Tonks seems to disappear to get snacks. Tiffany gets choice of the movie, and naturally chooses _Back to the Future_ , because sci-fi is cool, and definitely not lame.

 

The movie is great, aside from frequent questions from the pure blooded children in the group. Andre apparently has never seen a skateboard, and demands to know what they are, and more importantly where he can get one. Charlie gets confused, and Tonks keeps whispering false facts to him about muggle cars. Rowan gets annoyed when Doc Brown says he invented time travel, and without Tiffany covering her mouth with her hand, Rowan would have gone on an educational rant about time turners. Ben actually cries when Doc gets shot.

* * *

 

“I can’t believe muggles have figured out time travel too!” Rowan exclaims as they leave the cinema.

 

“Oh, no. They haven’t.” Tiffany shakes her head. “They only got to the moon in the sixties, I think it'll be awhile before they figure time travel out.”

 

“Muggles have been to the _MOON_?”

* * *

 

After the movie, the gang all returns to Tiffany’s house for a sleepover. It’s easier than trying to get everyone home straight away, although with so many of them, they all end up in the living room. Tiffany’s mother makes hot chocolate, with whipped cream (after Tiffany pestered her enough), and it manages to make everyone feel sleepy and ready for bed.

 

“Have you managed to come up with a plan yet?” Tiffany hisses to Rowan once she thinks everyone else is asleep. Tonks has managed to sprawl over half the floor, leaving Ben squished in one corner. Andre and Penny seem to have snagged a sofa each, and so are able to rest blissfully without worry of a flailing arm or leg.

 

“Are you two still looking for the Vault?” Charlie asks, and both Tiffany and Rowan startle, having assumed he was asleep. He’s sat up, ginger hair sticking out in all different directions, and smiling sleepily.

  
“No we found the Vault, we just don’t know how to break the curse on it to get inside. When Rowan touched it she got hurt.” Tiffany replies. “Any ideas on what to do?”

 

“Ask my brother, Bill.” Charlie looks like he might drop off to sleep at any second. “He wants to be a Curse-breaker, and he knows more spells than us.”

 

“That… sounds like a good idea. Thanks, Charlie.”

 

“Mm, you’re welcome.”

 

He falls back against his blankets with a slight thud, and within seconds his snoring can be heard. Tiffany pauses for a few moments, and holds up a finger so that Rowan knows to still be quiet. She waits until she’s sure that everyone else is completely asleep.

 

“There’s something I haven’t been able to tell you yet, about the Vault.”

 

“Huh? Why not?” Rowan asks.

 

“I didn’t want to stress you out so soon after you got out of the Hospital Wing.” Tiffany says. “And… I also didn’t want someone at Hogwarts to overhear.”

 

“Well… what is it?”

 

“I had another vision. After you got hit, I accidentally touched the Vault and…” She trails off, trying to remember what she saw. “There were these two rooms. One was filled with books, and the other was really cluttered with a door outlined in chalk.”

 

“Well that seems less threatening than the one from last year.”

 

“Also I… him.”

 

“Him?”

 

“You know! Mouldyfart.” Tiffany whispers even quieter. Her mother doesn’t approve of the names Tiffany calls He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and while the Professors at Hogwarts are stern, they have nothing on her mother.

 

“That’s less than ideal.” Rowan comments, trying to hold back a yawn. “But also, he’s dead, Tiffany.”

 

“I know… maybe it was nothing.”

 

“Maybe.”

 

A few moments later, Tiffany’s mother descends the stairs, and squints at them awkwardly, unable to see properly without her glasses, and tells them to both go to sleep. Tiffany nearly opens her mouth to point out that she’s awake too, but Rowan acquiesces too easily, and they both settle down for the night with minimal complaints from Tiffany when her mother kisses her cheek before going back upstairs.

 

Falling asleep is another matter, at least for Tiffany; the combined snoring of both Charlie and Rowan makes it nigh impossible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's fun fact: Tiffany and co. go to Bath for the movie, which is exactly where I went today, and one of the reasons this is posted later than planned! I had a mini panic last night about putting parts of this chapter in Bath, because I have no idea what it was like in the 80s; there was another part of the chapter planned but I scrapped it for that reason. 
> 
> Also the movie! I spent ages picking out what they'd see, I nearly went with another one because it had a couple Harry Potter actors in it, but when I checked the UK release date it was after Tiffany's birthday, and also didn't seem like the sort of thing she'd like to see. Unfortunately, I hadn't seen Back to the Future since I was a kid, so once I got back from Bath I then had to go watch it (it's actually still playing the background now, and is another reason why this is later than I meant it to be)
> 
> Another note!! The belt Tiffany gets from Penny; I used to wear a satchel all the time, and the thing is when you're trying to move quickly they have a tendency to bash against your leg, which isn't practical when breaking into Cursed Vaults, so I wanted to give her something else that wouldn't get in the way. Did I end up planning a whole chapter around this? Yes. I did. I'm not sorry. (It was going to be Rowan that gave the gift originally, but I feel like Rowan coming from such a rural background might not have the money for it, so I made it Penny instead.)


	10. Another Duel

Tiffany’s large circle of friends means that she never has to stress about who she’ll sit with when she takes the train back to school; she knows there’s a space saved for her before she even sets foot on the Hogwarts Express.

 

“Do a pig snout!” Andre demands of Tonks, who has morphed her features to look like Snape. She scrunches up her face, and within moments the compartment is filled with unashamed laughter at the sight of Severus Snape with a pig’s snout. The game pauses briefly upon Penny and Ben’s arrival to the compartment. Ben seems nervous as usual, although Penny herself looks slightly concerned.

 

“I just heard from Luisa that Ismelda said that Merula wants to duel you again.” Penny tells Tiffany. Ben nods his head at this.

  
“I heard that too! She’s still mad at you for beating her last year.”

 

Tonks seems to take this as a cue to morph her face into Merula’s, and pull angry expressions that set Rowan and Andre off laughing again.

 

“Really?” Tiffany whines. “I don’t have time for to duel her!”

 

“Somehow I don’t think you’re going to get a choice.” Charlie comments, amused.

 

* * *

 

Tiffany leaves Charms class with a smile on her face, Rowan to one side of her and the Gryffindor boys on the other while Andre walks ahead of them all, arguing with Billingsley about quidditch. The lesson was easy, and as such Ben and Tiffany both managed to snag a good twenty house points each for their respective houses.

 

Unfortunately, the joy is put to an end when Merula makes an appearance, Ismelda Murk at her side.

 

“Courtyard, midnight.” Merula demands, and Tiffany briefly forgets Penny’s warning from the train yesterday.

 

“What?”

 

“Meet me in the Courtyard at midnight.” Merula snaps. “Bring a second! I want a rematch for our last duel.”

 

“Merula, I have other things to do.” Tiffany complains; Charlie was going to introduce her to Bill tonight.

 

“Duel me or I’ll make your friends’ lives hell!” Merula demands. “Do you want me to start with the bookworm or the mudblood?”

 

“Fine, whatever.” Tiffany sighs, and turns to her friends “Do any of you want to be my second?”

 

Rowan and Ben seem to take one look at Merula and Ismelda, and shake their heads frantically. Charlie just shrugs.

 

“Sure.”

 

Tiffany turns back to Merula. “We’ll be there.” She promises. Merula smiles at this, and leaves, Ismelda Murk following her like a greasy haired duckling minion.

* * *

 

The Portrait to the Gryffindor Common Room swings open to reveal the two Weasley brothers. Seeing them stood side by side is interesting; Tiffany notes that Bill, even though he is two years the elder, is rather lean and tall, compared to Charlie’s short and stocky frame.

 

“Tiff, Bill, Bill, Tiff.” Charlie introduces them. Bill holds his hand out for Tiffany to shake, and Tiffany feels herself blush a little; he’s remarkably handsome. In fact, the last hour before she left the dormitory was spent listening to Rowan singing Bill’s praises, and now Tiffany can’t blame Rowan for her crush.

 

“It’s nice to meet you, Tiff.” Bill says, smiling. “I hear you have a duel to get to?”

 

“I um. Yes.” Tiffany stutters. “Sorry, I know this is probably annoying for you; but Merula is persistent. You don’t mind waiting to talk about the vaults?”

 

“Not at all!” Bill soothes. “Besides, this gives me an opportunity to know more about who I’ll be working with.”

 

“Can we go to the duel now?” Charlie asks. “I want to see Tiffany kick Merula’s arse again.”

 

"Sure, let's go." Tiffany says, leading the way with confidence. 

* * *

“You can’t bring an older student to be your second!” Merula complains, flanked by Ismelda. “That’s cheating!”

 

“Bill isn’t my second, Charlie is.” Tiffany sighs. “I told you I was busy tonight; Bill and I have some stuff to talk about.”

 

Charlie, for his part, waves cheerily at the mention of his name, which only causes the Slytherin girls to curl their lips.

 

“Whatever. Just get ready to fight!”

 

Tiffany shrugs off her jacket, and immediately shivers; Scotland in January is freezing, but Tiffany doesn’t want her jacket to weigh her down. She hands it to Charlie, who immediately folds it neatly. The boys and Ismelda take a few steps to one side, leaving Merula and Tiffany plenty of space to duel one another.

 

“Good luck, Tiff!” Bill calls out, and Charlie gives her a thumbs up. She grins back in response, a little bit sheepish.

 

“Hey! Eyes on me!”

 

“Hm? Oh yes. Duelling.” Tiffany says, feigning empty headedness in an attempt to wind Merula up. By the look on her opponent’s face, it worked.

 

They bow to one another; if the little bob they do to one another can be called that, and raise their wands. Merula attempts to cast the first spell-

 

“Everte- “

 

“Expelliarmus!”

 

Merula’s wand goes flying, and Tiffany grins. “Ready to give up, Snyde?”

 

“No!” She spits back, already on her hands and knees to pick up her fallen wand. “Flipendo!”

 

Tiffany isn’t fast enough to block this one. She tries to control her fall, but just manages to fall more to one side, earning her grazes along her left arm. “Rictusempra!” She casts from the ground. She pushes herself up as Merula is still bent double with giggles. “Flipendo!”

 

Merula is knocked off balance, straight into the fountain.

 

“Are you done?”

 

Merula glares up at her and gets up. She grabs her wand, but Tiffany casts the knockback jinx again, knocking her back into the water. The Weasley brothers cheer, even as she quickly bows them, far deeper than she had to Merula at the start of the duel.   

 

“It’s not fair!” Merula complains, climbing out of the fountain, clothes dripping. “You can’t beat me again! You can’t be better than me!”  
  
“Well I am.” Tiffany replies, dead pan. “Now can we please just leave each other al– “

 

“Hey!”

 

There’s a commotion off to the side; Bill has grabbed Ismelda by the wrist, stopping her from casting a spell at Tiffany by keeping her wand pointed at the sky.

 

“Your friend lost, kid!” Bill admonishes her. “Fair and square. You don’t go shooting spells at people when their backs are turned!”

 

“Let me go, blood traitor.” Ismelda all but hisses, freeing her wrist. She marches over to Merula, and they seem to put their heads together, whispering too quietly for the others to hear before they make their exit. Tiffany heads towards the Weasley boys, and they’re both grinning at her proudly.

 

“You really are good at duelling!” Bill says, clearly impressed.

 

“I did tell you.” Charlie points out. “That was so cool, Tiff!” He goes to hand back Tiffany’s jacket, but as she puts it on she hisses in pain, the denim feeling harsh against her grazed skin.

 

“Hey, give me your arm.” Bill commands. Tiffany holds it out, and Bill draws his wand. “Episkey!”

 

Tiffany watches with mild interest as the graze on her arm heals in front of her eyes; she’s not unfamiliar with this spell, she’d tried climbing a tree once as a child and ended up covered in scratches and bruises that her mother had healed with the same spell.

 

“Thanks!” She says, now able to get her jacket on without any discomfort. “So, the Vaults!”

 

“I think we should probably wait until tomorrow to talk about them.” Bill points out. “It’s getting late, and I should probably make sure this one gets some sleep.”

 

“Hey!”

 

“But that means I’ve dragged you out of bed for nothing!” Tiffany protests.

 

“Not at all, Tiff! In fact, now I’ve seen you duel I have some plans for what to do about the Vault.” Bill soothes. “What’s your last class tomorrow? I’ll meet you at your classroom.”

 

“Transfiguration, in classroom 99.”

 

“Nice. Well, ah. Do you want us to walk you back to your common room?”

* * *

 

Tiffany lets herself into the common room after hugging both Weasley brother’s goodbye, and is immediately confronted by Rowan, who looks ready to fall asleep at any moment.

 

“Did you get to meet Bill? Did he ask about me? Is he as cool as everyone says?”

 

“Yes, no, cooler.” Tiffany replies. “Rowan, what are you still doing up?”

 

“Waiting for you!” Rowan says. “Also, I should warn you that Ches- “

 

“Tiffany Pemberton, I hear you’ve been sneaking out of bed to meet older boys?” Chester seems to materialise out of nowhere, and Tiffany tries to hide her surprise. He has his hands on his hips, and reminds her slightly of her mother when she gets annoyed with Tiffany. 

 

“Don’t forget duelling.”

 

“You duelled Bill Weasley?” Chester looks confused.

 

“God no!” Tiffany says. “He’d probably kick my arse. No, I duelled Merula. And won.”

 

“You’re addicted to getting into trouble, I swear.” Chester sighs. “I should take points…”

 

“No one saw anything!” Tiffany protests. “If you don’t say anything, we don’t have to lose any house points.”

 

Rowan looks between Tiffany and Chester, biting her lip and looking anxious. Chester is glaring at Tiffany, who only looks back at him smugly in response. In the end, Tiffany wins, and Chester lets the girls go back to their dorm without any punishment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tiffany's large circle of friends is good for her, but a nightmare for me in terms of keeping track of where they all are. I nearly forgot about Andre at one point, so if you figure out where I had to insert him back into a scene well done to you :P 
> 
> Rowan still has a massive crush on Bill (which you'll see more of later), and Tiffany might have the slightest one too- he's a cool guy, you can't blame them! I feel a bit bad for Charlie though, I have an older brother too and when friends start commenting on how attractive he is it makes me want to die (also I am clearly the more attractive one, they're just all straight) so I don't think Charlie's going to be too happy with his friends swooning over his big brother!
> 
> Also!!! (this little bit is a spoiler depending on how far you are in the game, btw) I almost made Tulip Merula's second, as we know they're friends at this point in time; but if Tiffany knew that they were friends at this point in time I think it'd cause more arguments in the dorm than I can keep up with, and also messes up some year 3 stuff. So I made it Ismelda instead, which still makes sense, I think? 
> 
> Thanks to James018 again for commenting last chapter, and everyone else who leaves kudos or bookmarks the fic!


	11. Bill

When Tiffany turns up to transfiguration the next afternoon, all she can think about is her meeting with Bill. She’s vaguely aware of Tulip and Andre chatting in the seats next to her, but finds she doesn’t have the usual motivation to listen in.

 

“Today, we will be learning the softening charm.” McGonagall’s voice nearly startles Tiffany out of her seat. “Maybe Miss Pemberton could use it to give herself a soft landing next time she falls out of her chair.”

Tiffany blushes under the glare of Professor McGonagall; she supposes that she must be annoyed at her continued rule breaking even after McGonagall gave her a private lesson. The students around her snicker at her misfortune, but she fixes them with an annoyed stare that shuts them up.  

 

“Please open your textbooks to page one hundred and twenty.” McGonagall continues with the lesson. “Mr Egwu, if you could read to us.”

 

Andre starts to read the passage out loud, but Tiffany reads faster in her head. The book describes the spell as making “any object squishy and springy”. _I guess it must transfigure partly into a sponge?_ Tiffany wonders in her head, underlining a phrase without really thinking about it. _Or maybe I’m just not getting it._

 

The rest of the lesson passes quickly, and with lots of disapproving glares from McGonagall for not paying enough attention. Tiffany successfully makes her textbook spongy, however. When McGonagall inspects her work she tries to hide a smile and awards her with five house points for being the first to cast the spell right. Tiffany pointedly ignores a glare sent to her by Jane, who has failed the spell for the fifth time in a row. 

* * *

 

Tiffany leaves the classroom last, closing the door behind her and joining Rowan and Andre who wait for her in the corridor. She looks around herself when Bill taps her on the shoulder, getting her attention.

 

“Are you ready?” He grins, and Rowan nearly swoons at his voice. Andre sniggers at her.

 

“Yes, sure!” She says. “Where are we going?”

  
“We’ll head back to the training grounds.” He tells her. “Is… your friend okay?”

* * *

 

Apparently Rowan and Andre invite themselves along as they head down to the training grounds, and Tiffany doesn’t know if she should be pleased that they want to spend their evening with her, or annoyed; they’ll likely be ready to offer ‘helpful’ commentary just when she least needs it.

 

“I’m going to teach you the fire making spell.” Bill says, pulling something out of his pocket. “If we’re going up against ice, that will probably be the best spell to know.”

 

“Makes sense.” Tiffany watches as Bill puts what looks like a toy figurine on the ground, and casts engorgio. Once it’s full sized, it’s clear that it’s a training dummy, complete with a bullseye on its chest. “So what do I do?”

 

“I know!” Rowan sticks her hand up in the air, as though she were still in a classroom. “It’s in the Standard Book of Spells! The incantation is ‘incendio’!”

 

“Thanks, Rowan!” Tiffany calls back. She turns back to Bill. “Now I kind of do.”

 

“Your friend is… keen.” Bill comments.

 

“She’s great.” Tiffany finds herself smiling. “Now tell me what to do!”

 

Bill moves to her side, and spends some time demonstrating the technique. Tiffany leaps away when he casts the spell at the mannequin, and then wrinkles her nose at the smell of burning. She raises her wand, and tries to copy.

 

“Incendio!”

 

The slightest wisp of smoke.

 

Rowan and Andre laugh in the background, and Tiffany flips them off while Bill convinces her to try again. She does, but with little success.

 

“Hey Tiff, I’m a little cold!” Andre calls out. “Think you can get a fire going?”

 

“Oh ha-ha!” Tiffany calls back. “Be careful what you wish for, Andre!” She points her wand in his direction, with no intention of trying the spell; he hides behind Rowan all the same.

 

“Hey, if you want to learn this spell you need to focus!”

* * *

 

By the time they leave for dinner, Tiffany has just managed to get the hang of the spell, but Bill still insists that they keep training for at least another week before trying to break into the Vault. She heads with Rowan and Andre to the Ravenclaw table, and little Eliza, the first year, slides her way along the bench towards them.

 

“Is it true you beat Merula Snyde in a secret midnight duel?” She asks in a hushed voice, looking around nervously.

  
Tiffany nods. “Sure did.”

 

“Woah!” She gasps, and disappears back to her friends, who after much hushed whispering all look back over at her in awe. It's a bit unnerving, and if it weren't for the fact that training with Bill has left her feeling starving, she'd probably be put off of her dinner. 

 

“Has Merula been picking on first years or something?” Tiffany wonders aloud. “Why do they care so much?”

 

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Andre says, drily. “Is it wise to let people know you’ve been duelling again, by the way?”

 

“What the teachers can’t prove, they can’t punish.” Tiffany smiles innocently. “Parsnip?”

* * *

 

“Did you hear?” Penny whispers to Tiffany and Rowan during Herbology. “The ice has started spreading through the school.”

 

“What?” Tiffany asks, watering the plants.

 

“Professor Sinistra is trapped in the astronomy tower! Only the house elves can get to her!”  Penny continues. “If you’re going to break that curse, you need to do it soon.”

* * *

 

Tiffany manages to catch Bill as he’s leaving the Defence classroom, and waits while he waves his friends on ahead before she speaks.

 

“We need to break that curse.” Tiffany says seriously. “Tonight. The ice is spreading!”

 

“Okay. Is there anything you need me to bring?” Bill asks.

 

“I… uh… a warm coat would probably be a good idea.” Tiffany says, thoughts too jumbled with anxiety to really think straight. “Meet me in the corridor on the fifth floor after everyone has gone to bed. Okay?”

 

“I’ll see you then, Tiff.”

 

She turns and leaves, heading down the corridor and hoping that people think she looks more confident than she feels. Her gut twists in guilt that she’s not even sure she’s earned and her heart beats faster in anticipation of finding her brother. If all goes well, tonight she should save the school and find Jacob. If not, then well… she’s not sure if expulsion or death is the worst outcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't feel like this is my strongest chapter, but it is necessary to get the story where it needs to be! The next one should be a bit more interesting, and I had more fun writing some of that.
> 
> Thanks again to James018 for commenting!


	12. Facing the Door

After dinner, Tiffany spends some time preparing to face the door. Luckily, all she really has to take with her is the essence of dittany from last year, and her wand, which are easy enough to stow away.

 

“You’re going to get in trouble again.” Jane Potts says, glaring at her as she plaits her mousy hair, getting ready for bed. Tiffany glares at her.

 

“Someone has to stop this curse.” She points out, as stubborn as ever.

 

“There are teachers for that.” Jane argues. “Just don’t get caught. Or hurt.” Tiffany is shocked to have Jane shove a scarf into her hands. Rowan coughs pointedly from her own bed, and when Tiffany looks at her she raises her eyebrows.

 

“Thank you, Jane.” She says, once she realises what Rowan is trying to say.

 

“Is Tiffany going to the vault?” Charlotte calls from their shared bathroom, before poking her head round the door. There’s some toothpaste at the corner of her mouth. “Good luck!”

 

“Thanks, Lottie.”

 

She heads down the stairs into the common room, and Rowan follows for this bit, even if she’s not coming back to the Vault.

 

“You’ll be careful?” Rowan checks, trying to straighten the scarf that Tiffany hastily put on.

 

“Of course I will be.”

 

“I’ll see you in a few hours then.” Rowan smiles brilliantly at her. “Be safe!”

 

Tiffany nods, and waves as she leaves the common room, giving Rowan a thumbs up before she shuts the door behind her.

* * *

 

Tiffany finds Bill waiting in the corridor by the staircase leading to the Cursed Vault. He didn’t follow her advice, and is just in his usual school trousers and shirt. The whole corridor is filled with frost and patches of ice. Tiffany nearly slips at one point, but Bill catches her arm and keeps her steady.

 

“I told you to wear warm clothes!” Tiffany complains. “Are you ready?”

 

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” Bill confirms. “Let’s go, you remember the plan?”

 

“We need to get up the stairs and through the corridor as quickly as possible. The longer we take the more we’ll be affected by the cold.”

 

Bill nods. “Got it. Just stay behind me, so I know you’re safe.”

 

“You’ve not seen anything like this before, Bill.”

 

“The Cursed Vaults haven’t seen anything like me either!”

 

Tiffany shakes her head, and they head up the stairs together, Bill standing just in front. Tiffany momentarily feels a pang of sorrow; it ought to be her brother protecting her from these things. Charlie is lucky to still have Bill around. They enter the room with the entrance to the vault, but the ice around the door has grown since Tiffany was last here with Rowan.

 

“It’s absolutely incredible!” Bill gasps, eyes wide as he tries to take in all the details.

 

“It must have taken some complex magic to build this place.” Tiffany muses, staying close to him. “We have to find out who built the vaults, and why.”  
  
Beside her, Bill shivers. “You weren’t exaggerating about the cold, were you?” Bill says, teeth chattering.

 

“It’s almost like I told you to bring warm clothes.”

 

“How did you even get past all this ice before?” He ignores her.

 

“There was less of it.” Tiffany replies, voice tight. “Probably one of the Vault’s defences. We need to get rid of it.”

 

The pair look at one another and nod. They both pull out their wands and cast incendio.

 

The ice breaks away and start to melt under the heat, so they cast the spell again, water sinking into their shoes. Eventually, they break through to the door.

 

“Nice work, Tiff!” Bill praises, grinning.

 

“That’s the door to the Cursed Vault,” Tiffany says, “be careful, Bill.”

 

“That’s the mistake you made last time. We need to attack the door before it attacks us!” Bill replies. He casts incendio at the door, and Tiffany follows his lead. Before Tiffany can react, a blast of blue magic shoots from the centre of the door towards her. She’s saved when Bill shoves her to one side; she lands on the ground, and looks up to see Bill trapped in ice that’s up to his waist.

 

“Bill!” Tiffany cries out, in horror. “I… What do I- oh!”

 

“H-hurry up! It’s so c-cold!”

 

“Incendio!” Tiffany casts the spell, melting the ice around Bill. He stumbles backwards once free.

 

“Thanks.” He rubs his arms, trying to warm up and looking more than a little unwell. “I don’t feel too good.”

 

“Shit. Come on, we’ll go see Madam Pomfrey.” Tiffany says, taking Bill’s arm and leading him forcefully away from the ice door. Bill only nods in response, letting her lead him away. Tiffany risks one last look over her shoulder at the Vault before they disappear around the corner. They’re on the staircase when Bill’s face falls into a frown.

 

“Tiffany.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Is it just me, or is the ice spreading… faster?”

 

Tiffany checks the walls, and sure enough, the ice is getting noticeably worse, visibly getting thicker, and even with Jane’s scarf Tiffany feels herself getting colder by the second.

 

“Shit.”

 

They hurry away.

* * *

The door to the hospital creaks as Tiffany pushes it open, struggling to support Bill’s weight; as they travelled through the castle he’d started leaning more and more on her. Both students are shivering, though Bill’s lips are still slightly blue after being trapped in the ice. Madam Pomfrey rushes forward, taking Tiffany’s place at Bill’s side and leading him to a bed.

 

“Go back to your dormitory.” The matron instructs, lips a tight line as she tries not to snap at the young witch. “I’ll have a house elf bring you some hot cocoa. Try and warm up.”

 

Tiffany turns on her heel and runs out of the hospital wing, doing her best not to focus on the frost that is starting to appear on the paintings in the hall way.

* * *

 

Tiffany walks into the common room, and is immediately greeted by the sight of an angry Chester. No one else is in the room, and the light is dim; only two candles lit for Chester’s use.

 

“Merlin, Tiffany.” Chester starts, “I don’t think I _need_ to ask where you’ve been.”

 

“I-I-I’m not sorry.” Tiffany says, teeth chattering.

 

“Look at you! You can’t even get a word out without shivering.” He scolds. “Here.”

 

Tiffany manages to catch the jumper that Chester throws at her. It’s handmade, knitted with thick blue wool. She shrugs off her frost covered jacket and Jane’s scarf to replace it with Chester’s jumper. It’s far too big for her, the sleeves covering her hands entirely. Chester hands her a steaming mug, filled with the cocoa promised to her by Madam Pomfrey.

 

“You’re an idiot.” Chester steps forward and pulls Tiffany into an awkward hug, being mindful of the hot mug of cocoa. “What could possibly be worth all the trouble you get yourself into?”

 

“Jacob.” Tiffany mumbles, trying to escape the embrace so she can drink her cocoa. “I was investigating the cursed ice so I could find out what happened to my brother.”

 

Chester sighs. “I… realise that this is difficult for you, Tiffany. But please stay safe. And more importantly out of trouble.” He finishes sternly, and Tiffany giggles. The prefect smiles despite himself, and continues. “You can see your friend in the morning- Yes I know about that. Madam Pomfrey sent me a letter with the cocoa- you can see them tomorrow.”

* * *

 

Tiffany wakes late, and even with the charms on her bedding, she finds she’s shivering. It feels like she’s been sleeping in her mother’s fridge. Rowan is busying herself getting changed, and has a book set aside that’s been tied shut with a ribbon.

 

“Who is that for?” Tiffany asks.

 

“Bill.” Rowan replies, smiling. “Hurry up! I want to go visit him.”

 

“Fine, fine.” Tiffany huffs, pulling herself out of bed. She leaves her hair, brushing the curls only seems to make them frizz, and throws on the first clothes she comes too. They head down the stairs and into the common room, and spot Eliza and some other first years huddled together, all wearing thick jumpers.

 

It’s not until they head down the stairs of Ravenclaw tower though that Tiffany notices anything too out of place. When she’d woken up, the frost that had she’d spotted on the paintings weren’t on her mind at all, but now she realises that the situation has… escalated.

 

There are large blocks of ice all along this corridor. And down the stairs; in fact, half the moving staircases are stuck, the ice freezing them in place.

 

“Oh shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are picking up again! A lot of this is taken straight from the game, but I liked the idea of the ice getting worse as a direct result of people trying to break into the Vault. In the game it's implied (we know it starts spreading because of someone tampering) but it's a bit pushed to the side- we don't really get to see that much of the ice except when we go into the corridor.


	13. The Ice Spreads

It takes Tiffany and Rowan far longer than planned to get to the hospital wing, having to pick their way around the Cursed Ice, being careful not to touch it. As they near their destination, they spot Charlie trying to make his way through the ice, wearing a large green coat and a handmade jumper with his initial on it.

 

“Charlie, I’m so, so sorry.” Tiffany apologises, stepping towards him. He smiles and shakes his head.

 

“I’m the one who told you to ask him for help.” Charlie reminds her. “Besides, he’s been gushing about these Vaults for ages, he’d probably have got himself hurt at some point anyway.”

 

They join him and head into the Hospital Wing, laughing when Charlie complains about how cold the door handle has become.

 

“I swear, Mr Weasley. I hope that when your younger siblings come to Hogwarts that they don’t get into such foolish trouble.” Pomfrey says, busying herself around Bill’s bed. He’s sat up, and his lips no longer have the blue tint from the night before.

 

“Don’t worry about them Madam P! They’re well behaved angels, every one.” Bill throws in a cheeky wink for good measure. “Oh, hey guys!”

 

Rowan rushes forward before Pomfrey can stop her, or Charlie approach his brother. Tiffany sighs resignedly, and Charlie looks baffled. Pomfrey seems to drift away once she realises that the second years aren’t about to be deterred from visiting Bill.

 

“Hi, Bill! I got you a get well soon gift!” Rowan gushes, handing over the book she’d brought with her. “It’s written by Patricia Rakepick, one of the world renowned curse breakers!”

 

“Thank you, Rowan.” Bill accepts the gift graciously, before leaning forward to look past her at his brother. “I see you’ve finally decided to come say hello.”

“Well apparently some bright spark decided to mess with a Cursed Vault and covered half the school in ice.” Charlie comments. At Tiffany’s uncomfortable cough he quickly amends his statement. “Not you, obviously Tiff. You’re an angel.”

 

“An angel of disaster, perhaps.” She comments, sitting herself down at the end of Bill’s bed. “How are you feeling?”

 

“Much better! Madam P wants to keep me here another couple days though, to be safe.” Bill replies. “I can just about feel my fingers again.”

 

“Are you going to go back?” Charlie asks, sitting on the chair by the bed and sticking his feet up, using Bill as a footrest. Bill pushes his feet back down onto the mattress.

 

“Of course!” Bill says. “I’ve wanted to be a curse-breaker forever, and now is my chance to break a curse for real!”

 

* * *

 

Eventually, Madam Pomfrey decides that Bill has had enough excitement, and chases Tiffany and Rowan out, only letting Charlie stay. They’re busy helping each other travel over a large patch of ice on the ground, when they hear passing Prefects talk about the ice that’s blocked off the quidditch changing rooms.

 

Tiffany and Rowan share a look, and change direction, skidding and slipping and falling over more than once.

 

The entrance to the changing room is blocked off with ice, that McGonagall and Flitwick are desperately trying to melt with little success. Inside, there are frantic, scared voices.

 

“Andre is in there, isn’t he?” Tiffany whispers hoarsely, once she sees the blue and bronze decorations at the entrance, and realises that these are the _Ravenclaw_ changing rooms.

 

She finds her feet moving of their own accord towards the ice, only stopping when McGonagall puts an arm out to hold her back. In the background, she can hear Rowan muttering something about ‘stupid quidditch players’.

 

“I’m sorry, Andre!” She calls through the door. _I’ll fix this, I swear._

“Tiffany?” Andre calls back.

 

“I’ll fix this, Andre!”

 

“Miss Pemberton, step away!” Flitwick chides. “You’ll only get yourself hurt!”

 

“Let me help!” Tiffany begs. “I know the fire making spell too! I can help!”

 

* * *

 Tiffany is not allowed to help.

 

Instead, she’s forced to go back to Ravenclaw tower with Rowan; the Professors have made the decision to only allow students to go between their common rooms and the Great Hall at meal times, to avoid anyone unknowingly getting trapped in the ice. No one is allowed to travel without a Professor, and this is not an ideal situation at all.

 

Tiffany has draped herself across Rowan’s lap, pouting.

 

“I killed Andre.”

 

“You didn’t.”

 

“I’ve killed Andre and everything sucks.”

 

“Maybe now you’ll leave that Cursed Vault alone.” Chester says coming over.

  
“No.”

 

“Then- wait. No? Tiffany! Haven’t enough people been hurt?”

 

“I actually agree with Chester. We’ve done enough damage.” Rowan says, fiddling with one of Tiffany’s curls until Tiffany sits up.

 

“How many more people could get hurt if I don’t break the curse?” Tiffany argues. “We’re all stuck in this school, no one can get in or out except for the house elves; either we wait until the ice freezes us to death, or someone actually does something! If I make things worse then so be it, at least I’ll have tried to save this stupid school!”

 

She gets to her feet, and storms back to her dormitory, leaving Chester and Rowan staring after her in confusion. 

* * *

 

 The common room seems to be deserted when Tiffany sneaks down later. She’s dressed warmly, but her boots aren’t built for stealth and she winces with each step down the stairs. She nearly makes it to the door when a small voice makes her spin around.

 

“Are you going to break the ice curse?”

 

Little Eliza, dressed in a warm coat and with her wand in her hand.

 

“Maybe.” Tiffany replies, feeling guilty all of a sudden. “What are you doing out of bed, Eliza?”

 

“I want to come too!” She chirps. “I heard you arguing with Chester earlier, and knew you’d try to sneak out!”

 

“Oh.” Tiffany pauses. “Eliza, I’m impressed that you want to help. Really, I am. But you’re only a first year, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

 

“That’s fine! I don’t mind if I do!”

 

“No, Eliza.”

 

“How come you get to be the hero and I don’t?” She demands, crossing her arms. Tiffany tries not to curse; if this conversation keeps going, a prefect will probably hear them and come and stop her. She needs to think of something…

 

“You can help, actually!” Tiffany says, grinning. “There’s a prefect outside, keeping watch to stop students getting out, right?”

 

“Right.”

 

“I need you to pretend to need their help. Bring them in here, say you had a… a nightmare or something. I’ll hide, and once they’re away from the door I can sneak out. Can you do that for me?”

 

“Yes!” Eliza says, beaming like it’s Christmas. “You hide over there!” She points, and Tiffany allows Eliza to feel like she's in charge. She hides herself, ducking down behind a sofa and waiting as Eliza opens the door, and chats with the Prefect, who she manages to lure inside easy enough. Tiffany darts forwards.

 

“Hey, Pemberton!”

 

_Shit._

 

“Colloshoo!” Tiffany casts a charm at the Prefect, causing her shoes to stick to the ground when she tries to give chase. “Sorry!”

 

She slams the door behind her, drowning out the shouting, and runs as fast as she dares down to the Hospital Wing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a bit in the middle of this chapter that I rewrote three times today alone- which is kind of impressive when you consider the fact that I've not been in the house for most of the day. 
> 
> Also, the spell Tiffany uses on the Prefect at the end of this chapter is from the book Charlie gave her for her birthday. I did my homework, guys!
> 
> You can thank my friend for this being posted- I got her to motivate me to post this! (also I've told them to revive one of their old Harry Potter fanfics, so if they do I'll give you guys a link. She's a very creative person, so I hope you'll like her stuff!) 
> 
> Thank you again to James018 for commenting last chapter!


	14. The Vault of Ice

Tiffany majestically slips on a patch of ice, tumbles to the ground, and lands painfully on the ground at Penny Haywood’s feet. She gratefully accepts the hand extended down toward her. Once she’s on her feet it takes a few moments for her brain to catch up with the situation.

 

“Pen?”

 

“Tiff?”

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“Looking for you. Where are you going?”

 

“To get Bill.”

 

“Oh.” Penny tilts her head to the left. “I thought you were going to break the curse on the Vault.”

 

“Oh, I am!” Tiffany reassures her. “But I can’t do it alone.”

 

“And you think a second year and a fourth year who shouldn’t really be out of the Hospital Wing are going to be able to do it together?” Penny raises a practically perfect eyebrow. “Really?”

 

“Admittedly it might not be the best plan.” Tiffany confesses. “But Rowan has started siding with Chester, and Andre is trapped, and I can’t really get into the other common rooms to get anyone, so it’s the only plan I have.”

 

“Well, not anymore.” Penny declares. “When I heard about Andre I knew you’d try to break the Vault again, and I’ve decided I’m coming with you!”

 

“Oh!” Tiffany pauses. Bringing Penny along means there’s a risk of Penny getting hurt too, and she’s already caused enough friends pain… but also- Penny is cool in a crisis. And brave. And just… really cool. And pretty. “Okay!”

 

“I even brought some Wiggenweld Potions along, I brewed them after Rowan got hurt.” Penny says. “And I have some Strengthening Potions left over too. So we should be prepared.”

* * *

 

They sneak carefully into the Hospital Wing, Tiffany going first and making her way to Bill’s bed. He definitely looks much better than he did the night before. His long hair is splayed across his pillow, and if Tiffany weren’t so focused on the Vault she’d think it looked sweet.

 

“Hey, wake up!” She hisses, poking him in the cheek. “We have a curse to break.”

Bill stubbornly rolls over and wraps himself in his blankets, mumbling grumpily at her.

 

“Come on, dipshit!” She shakes him violently now. “Do you want this school to turn into an ice-cube?”

 

“Wha’?”

 

“Get up!”

 

“Oh, Tiff.” Bill seems more coherent now. “We’re going now? I’m not supposed to leave yet!”

 

“Our friend is stuck in the changing rooms.” Penny says, coming forwards now. “If we don’t do something soon he could die.”

 

Bill manages to sit up, and rub the sleep out of his eyes. “Okay, give me a few moments to get dressed.”

 

There’s an awkward pause as Tiffany and Penny just look at him once he gets up. He blushes slightly.

 

“Turn around!”

 

“Oh!”

 

“Sorry!”

 

They both spin to face the other direction, poorly hiding their giggles as Bill grumbles about them. There are three small thumps on the ground that Tiffany guesses is Bill trying to put his shoes one while standing up, being forced to hop around on one leg. Certain that the coast is clear, they turn to face him again, and Tiffany nearly groans. Of course; Bill only has his clothes from yesterday. If he goes to the Vault in just his trousers and a thin shirt, he’ll freeze before he can even cast a spell.

 

“That won’t do.” Tiffany says, shaking her head. “It’s freezing out there.”

 

Penny nods, indicating her own coat and scarf. Bill looks a little bit lost.

 

“I haven’t got anything else!”

 

It’s Penny who takes Tiffany’s scarf, and throws it at Bill, along with her own knitted hat. It’s not much better, but they don’t really have any other options right now.

 

“Let’s go.”

* * *

 

Bill leads the way, arguing that as the eldest he should be the one in front. Tiffany would argue that these Vaults are her responsibility, thanks to Jacob, but her legs are too short to overtake Bill without risking falling flat on her face thanks to the ice, so she follows behind with Penny. More than once they have to duck out of sight of a patrolling teacher trying to catch students who might be stupidly wandering around the Cursed Ice.

 

Entering the corridor along the fifth floor is harder than expected, and they have to squeeze through a gap in the ice one at a time. Tiffany prays that once this Curse is broken the ice melts away, else they might not be able to get out. Penny impressively doesn’t seem that scares, except for the slight worried frown on her face. She’s not been in this part of the castle since last year, and it’s considerably icier than it was back then. Tiffany is more than a little worried about the way Bill’s teeth chatter, but pushes the thought out of her mind. Everything will be okay.

 

They make their way up the staircase, and walk along the corridor until the reach the Vault, and take their positions.

 

“We need to cast the spell together- wait. Penny, do you even know incendio?” Tiffany asks.

 

“Hm? Oh, yes! I taught myself after last year.”

 

“Oh, well that’s good. Anyway, together on three! One, Two, Three, Incendio!”

 

“Incendio!”

 

“Incendio!”

 

The ice around the door cracks a little.

 

“Again!” Bill says. “Don’t stop!”

 

It takes a long time, and Tiffany’s wand arm is actually aching by the time the last of the ice melts off of the door. It starts to open before the three have a chance to celebrate their success.

 

“You know I just thought of something?” Bill says nervously. “Maybe the door wasn’t trying to keep us out.”

 

“I don’t like this thought.” Penny says, taking a step backwards. Tiffany agrees with the sentiment.

 

“What if it was trying to keep something inside?”

 

“Bill if you’ve jinxed this I swear I will murder you.” Tiffany says, as the door opens wide enough to reveal a suit of armour that’s familiar to her; the one from her vision. It has a large two-handed sword, and steps forwards menacingly. “Run!”

 

They don’t get the chance. The Armour swings its sword, and only Tiffany is able to duck underneath the blast of blue magic, she looks up in horror to see both Bill and Penny stuck in ice.

 

“Guys!”

 

“Watch out!” Bill warns her, and Tiffany twists away, shielding her head with her hand as the Armour swings at her again, this time without magic. It slices through the flesh at the top of her left arm, and she can already feel the blood spilling out of the wound as she tries to move backwards out of the way of another strike.

 

“Run, Tiff!” Penny shouts. Tiffany tries to obey, but only ends up slipping on the ice and landing so that she’s looking up at the Ice Knight. Its pointing the sword at her throat, and for a moment she’s certain she’s going to die; before she has three very important thoughts.

 

The first; Tiffany is not brave. Tiffany does not fight for bravery or honour; it’s not in her nature.

 

The second; Tiffany is the smartest person she knows.

 

The third; This suit of armour is making her angry.

 

Really. Fucking. Angry.

 

This hunk of metal has frozen her friends, hurt her arm, and is stopping her from getting inside that Vault; the place she’s been trying to break into for months now. What right does it have? She points her wand-

 

“Reducio!”

 

The suit of armour shrinks until it’s only two inches tall, and utterly harmless.

 

Tiffany draws a deep, shuddering breath. Her lungs ache. Her arm is throbbing. Her vision is being invaded with blobs of darkness that come and go. This isn’t a good sign, surely, but she’s more concerned with getting back to her feet.

 

“Tiff!” Bill snaps at her, through chattering teeth. “Some help, please?”

 

She snaps back to semi-awareness.

 

“Oh! Incendio!”

 

She frees both Penny and Bill, who look at her with concern.

 

“T-Tiff, your arm!” Penny says through chattering teeth, when questioned. “Do you want a Wiggenweld potion? I don't know if it'll heal it completely but...”

 

“That is quite a bit of blood.” Bill comments. “Hold on. Episkey!”

 

Nothing seems to happen; the wound is too deep for the spell to have an effect. Penny rummages in her coat pockets, and pulls out a bottle of Wiggenweld Potion. Tiffany accepts it, but while it helps heal her bruises, the wound is still bleeding. The fabric all down her arm is stained a deep red.

 

“We should turn back.” Bill decides. “This is serious. If that didn’t work it’s possibly cursed.”

 

“No, I’ve got something else to try.” Tiffany fumbles around in the pouch on her belt, and manages to retrieve the essence of dittany given to her last year. There’s a brief moment where she realises she can’t hold the fabric of her clothes away from the wound and also apply the essence, so she holds the vial out to the others. “Help?”

 

Penny takes the vial while Bill carefully pulls the fabric away from the wound. Three drops of the essence lands on her arm that starts to sting and sizzle as it heals itself. Bill and Penny kindly refrain from commenting on the tears that well in Tiffany’s eyes.  

 

“All done!” Penny declares proudly, handing back the vial with a shivering hand. Some of the dittany splashed onto Tiffany’s robe, but it’s not too much of an issue right now. Bill walks away from them for a brief moment, and kicks the mini Ice Knight so hard it hits the ceiling. When it crashes back down to the ground, it’s in pieces.

 

“Anti-climactic.” Tiffany comments. “How are you two feeling?”

 

“Cold, but the sooner we get this over with the sooner we can warm up.” Bill says. “Let’s get in that Vault.”

 

They head inside, and strangely there’s no ice inside the Vault itself. Instead, there’s a large glass column in the middle, and unlit stone lanterns dotted around the hexagonal room. The floor is covered in rich tiles, that make crisp noises with each footstep upon them.

 

“It’s amazing!” Penny exclaims.  

 

“There’s something strange about this column.” Bill says, frowning.

 

“Maybe there’s something inside?” Tiffany asks moving forward and touching it. The glass seems to open, and Tiffany has to leap backwards out of the way. Inside is a book and a broken wand, suspended in the air.

 

“Not exactly the treasure I was hoping for.” Bill comments. Tiffany reaches forward to pick them up, when she hears her brother’s voice.

 

_Find the other four vaults, Tiffany! Find my room, before she does! You can’t let her get there first!_

“Tiff! Snap out of it!” Bill has taken Tiffany’s elbow, and is waving a hand in front of her face. She shakes her head, trying to snap back to reality.

 

“Jacob?”

 

“No, I’m Bill!”

  
“Yeah I know.” Tiffany says. “I mean I heard Jacob. I thought for a second he might…”

 

“What did he say?” Penny asks gently.

 

“To find the other four Vaults, and his room.” Tiffany replies. “Said to find it before she does, whoever _she_ is.”

 

“Strange.” Bill comments.

 

“I think that this must be his wand.” Tiffany reaches out again and actually manages to grab the broken wand and book this time. Bill tries to stop her, but isn’t quick enough. Thankfully this time she doesn’t get hit by another vision or message. Tiffany opens the book, and frowns. It’s just scribbles and drawings. “Well this is bullshit.”

 

“What?” Penny asks, as she looks over Tiffany’s shoulder.

 

“It looks like it was done by someone mad.” Bill says.

 

“Maybe it’s a clue to the other Vaults?” Tiffany suggests.

 

“It might be.” Bill agrees. “Also, I think we should get going.”

 

Tiffany looks back up at him, and winces. His and Penny’s lips are still a little blue. They probably should get back to the Hospital Wing. Bill leads the way again, and all three of them in turn kick the pieces of the Ice Knight, Tiffany flipping it’s broken parts off before heading down the stairs, now damp as the ice slowly starts to melt. They’re about to squeeze through the gap in the ice, when Penny calls for them to stop.

 

“I want to see how well I brewed this erumpent potion.” Penny says, pulling a vial out of her coat pocket, and throwing it at the gap in the ice. It bursts into flames, and the ice starts to melt faster. The flames quickly die out, leaving a larger path for them to walk through.

 

“You couldn’t have used that earlier?” Tiffany quips, and Penny shakes her head.

 

“I didn’t want to waste it.” She replies. “Now come on!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tiffany's guide to dealing with enemies: Shrink 'em! 
> 
> Seriously I wondered why we couldn't just do this in the game, and because they didn't even let us attempt it there's no way to prove to me it wouldn't work (also I feel like fighting the guy head on isn't a very Ravenclaw thing to do)
> 
> Also, this year is nearly over now! I might wait a few days once I finish this before I start uploading year 3- otherwise I'm going to catch up with the game sooner than I'd like!


	15. The Aftermath

The journey back to the Hospital Wing is filled with frequent pauses to melt the worst of the ice away now that the curse is lifted. Of all of them, Tiffany is most worried about Bill. The scarf and hat that she and Penny had loaned him did little to protect him from the cold. She hopes she doesn’t have to face Charlie too soon after this, worried that this time he will be angry with her for getting his brother into danger again.

 

There are voices coming from inside the Hospital Wing- frantic and hurried. Bill pushes open the door to reveal Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall talking.

 

“I don’t know, Minerva! I came out to do my usual checks and he was just- Mr Weasley!”

 

The two women have spotted the three of them now, and Tiffany would turn tail and run to avoid their stares, but Penny grabs her by the arm the second she begins to shift. She can only imagine what the adults must be thinking looking at their rag tag group; two with blue lips and pale faces, the other with blood stains down one sleeve, all shivering violently.

 

“Someone should try and free the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team again.” Tiffany manages to say. “We broke the curse, so the ice is melting now.”

 

There’s suddenly a lot of confusing movement. Madam Pomfrey sets about getting them all dry night clothes, and insists on poking at the now-healed wound on Tiffany’s arm while Bill and Penny drink Pepper-Up Potion to warm themselves. Penny’s and Tiffany’s fretting about the Quidditch team is largely ignored, except to tell them that they’ll be free soon. Tiffany completely refuses to even sit down until a crowd of students led by Flitwick filter into the room. Andre barely gets to take two paces before he’s embraced by Tiffany and Penny, even Bill coming over to check on him.

 

“I’m so glad you’re alright!” Tiffany says. “I’m so sorry!”

 

“Hey, it’s okay!” He says. “Just please don’t let go. You’re nice and warm.”

 

Unfortunately, Tiffany is forced to let go so that she can sleep and Madam Pomfrey can have a proper look at Andre, who she treats with Pepper-Up Potion. Tiffany wonders if the Hospital Wing has ever been as busy as this before, ten students needing attention all on the same night.

* * *

 

“I can’t believe you went back to the Vault without me!” Rowan cries, sitting at the end of Tiffany’s bed. She feels fine, but Madam Pomfrey isn’t letting her go until after lunch time.

 

“You said you thought the teachers should handle it!” Tiffany protests. “I didn’t think you would!”

 

“Of course I would have joined you!”

 

“You might not believe that she deserted you, but at least she’s talking to you.” Penny says, from the bed to Tiffany’s left. “One of your prefects stopped by earlier and she pretended to be asleep, so she obviously still likes you a little.”

 

“Tiffany!”

 

“I will not apologise.” Tiffany sniffs. “He was only going to lecture me! I just saved the school, I think I deserve a break.”

 

“I think he was worried about you.” Bill comments. His timing is impeccable, as Charlie makes his entrance at this moment, storming over to his brother’s bed.

 

“Stupid git,” is all he says, wrapping his big brother in a hug.

 

“I think he’s worried about you.” Tiffany says back. Bill makes a rude hand gesture.

* * *

 

The floors are still damp, but the ice is gone. Tiffany smiles to herself as she reaches the large gargoyle that leads the way up to Dumbledore’s office. She might not have found her brother yet, but she has clues, and the school is safe for now. In all in all, despite the fact that she broke school rules and put multiple people in danger, she thinks she’s done a pretty damn good job.

 

Apparently, Professor McGonagall does not agree.

 

“This has not been the first appearance of the Cursed Ice at Hogwarts, Miss Pemberton. This is also not the first time it’s disappeared. Just as before it seems to have appeared when someone tampered with the Vault, and started to disappear when someone opened the door. I am sure that you can guess who was responsible for opening the door last time.”

 

“Jacob!” Tiffany smiles, but falters at McGonagall’s glare.

 

“We don’t yet understand how the Vault reappeared, or who first tampered with it this time. Truth be told there is still much we don’t know about the Cursed Vaults.” McGonagall sighs. “I know you thought you were doing the right thing in breaking into the Vault, but you have been utterly reckless. Therefore, I must deduct fifty house points from Ravenclaw.”

 

“That’s… fair.” Tiffany agrees begrudgingly. She doesn’t like it, and Chester is going to murder her, but when all is said and done the punishment is deserved.

 

“And a week’s worth of detention.”

 

“Ma’am!”

 

“Two weeks.”

 

“Fine.”

 

“Professor Dumbledore will see you now. Iced Mice!” McGonagall says. The large gargoyle starts to shift, revealing a stair case leading up to the Headmaster’s office. “Well up you go!”

 

Tiffany heads up the spiral stairs, feeling a little less triumphant now. She knocks on the door, and enters at Dumbledore’s request.

 

“Professor.”

 

“Ah, Miss Pemberton. I will be with you in just a moment.”

 

Tiffany huffs in irritation, and pokes at a strange looking egg timer on one of the tables near the entrance to the office. It nearly falls to the floor, but she just manages to catch it in time. An old man in a painting tuts at her, so she sticks her tongue out at him.

 

“Miss Pemberton?”

 

“Oh, sorry Professor.” She makes her way to his desk. “What are you writing?”

 

“Questions that I hope will finally provide some answers.”

 

“Oh. You wanted to see me, Professor?”

 

“It would appear that you have discovered the source of the Cursed Ice. You revealed a vanished staircase, explored long-forgotten corridors of the school, and broke an ancient curse on a vault that many believed did not even exist despite the evidence.”

 

“I’m not sorry I did it.” Tiffany says, folding her arms. “But I saw the ice in my vision, and I heard Jacob’s voice.”

 

“Visions like the one you described to me last year are very rare indeed. You might ask yourself if what you perceived was something else entirely.” Dumbledore takes his half-moon glasses off to clean them absently. “Is there anything else you would like to say for yourself?”

 

“What are the Vaults? Who created them, and why?”

 

“There are many theories. Some say they were created by the founders. Others say by a paranoid headmaster. As for why…. Most speculation is too dangerous and implausible to indulge until we know the truth. I’ve been attempting to locate someone who may have the answers. Now, I would like to award you fifty house points for your heroism in breaking the curse.”

 

“No!” Tiffany protests, cursing herself mentally even as she does.

 

“No?” Dumbledore seems amused, as though she’s an animal in a zoo that’s done something remarkably human.

 

“No! Professor, I broke the rules!” Tiffany points out. “I wasn’t trying to be a hero! I’m just trying to…”

 

_Find Jacob?_

_Save Andre?_

_Figure out what the Vaults are?_

“I don’t know what I’m trying to do exactly, but regardless! I don’t deserve those house points, and I refuse to accept them!”

 

“Well, if you insist.” Dumbledore smiles. “I shall not award you for your deeds. But, one more thing, Miss Pemberton.”

 

“Yes, Professor?”

 

“Leave this search alone, Miss Pemberton. Leave the Cursed Vaults to me.”

 

“I’d rather not make any promises, Professor.”

 

“I see.” Again, Dumbledore only looks faintly amused. “We will talk again at the end of your third year, Miss Pemberton, and I would like to discuss something besides your frequent misbehaviour. Dismissed.”  

* * *

 

Charlie and Bill are arguing.

 

It’s not a big argument, but it’s been going on for a while; hushed voices sniping at one another. Tiffany is getting tired of it.  She gets to her feet, and walks over to where they’re sat by the Courtyard fountain.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“He’s moping because he doesn’t think he’ll be made prefect.”

 

“I’ve broken too many rules. McGonagall will never trust me now!” Bill whines. “I’ve wanted to be a prefect since I started here!”

 

“Stop being a git.” Tiffany snaps. Charlie grins, Bill looks offended.

 

“Even I wasn’t that mean.” Charlie seems impressed.

  
“That’s because you, Charlie, are nice.” Tiffany tosses her hair. “I’m not.”

 

Both brothers blink blandly at her.

 

“Look, Bill. You’re a great student and you helped save the school. If they don’t make you prefect, then it’s their loss.”

 

“Thanks, Tiffany.”

 

“Hey!” Charlie protests. “That’s what I’ve been saying, only nicer!”

 

“I don’t listen to you.”

 

“Obviously.”

 

“Anyway. Those are my thoughts, so stop bickering.” Tiffany stalks off, feeling a little bit pleased at cheering Bill up. Mostly though, she just feels smug about ending that blasted background noise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not 100% sure on this chapter but it's already a day late and if I don't post it now it will never be posted, and then this story will never get finished, so here it is!
> 
> Tiffany refusing the house points from Dumbledore is something I decided a long time ago, but I'm still nervous about the reception from you guys- largely because even with the holiday scenes, there's not that much I show of her home life. So, hopefully you don't think it's weird. It's definitely in character from my perspective but that's because I know more about Tiff than you guys do!
> 
> Today's fun fact for you is that a lot of dialogue between Charlie and Bill is very similar to what my older brother and I say to one another, both in game dialogue in year 4 and the stuff I write here.


	16. The End

“And in first place, Slytherin, with 759 house points!”

 

Tiffany does not shrink away when her fellow Ravenclaws turn to glare at her, sarcastically clapping for the Slytherins who are cheering on the table behind her. Chester in particular looks put out.

 

“Next time I’ll let our quidditch team freeze to death if you’d prefer.” She smiles innocently at him, and he rolls his eyes.

 

“I for one am glad for your meddling.” Andre says warmly from her left. “I think I can cope with losing the house cup to Slytherin if it means I don’t have to lose my toes to frostbite.”

 

“Someone appreciates me.” Tiffany smiles back at him.

 

At the High Table, Dumbledore coughs loudly to get everyone’s attention. The noise of students chatting slowly dies down.

 

“I think after this very exciting year; you all deserve your grand feast. Enjoy!”

 

He claps his hands and the tables are filled with the usual grand dishes that students reach for with excitement. Rowan nudges Tiffany in the ribs.

 

“Not hungry?”

 

“Hm?” Tiffany blinks at her. “Oh, not really.”

 

“Eat something at least.” Rowan says, putting a helping of boiled potatoes on Tiffany’s plate. Tiffany sticks her tongue out at her, but eats the smallest potato to get her off her back. While she’s aggressively chewing, Andre sneaks some pork onto her plate.

* * *

Tulip’s eyes are unusually red, but after Lottie asks what’s wrong and nearly gets hit with the knock back jinx, the girls all decide it’s best not to ask questions.

 

“Does it hurt?” Lottie asks, voice a little nervous after dealing with Tulip, but apparently determined to still be the sweetest girl in the dorm. She’s pointing at the long scar on Tiffany’s left arm; normally she wears sleeves long enough to cover it up, but it’s an unusually warm evening so she’s forfeited sleeves in favour of a cool tank top instead leaving her wound on show.

 

“No, it’s fine.” Tiffany replies, glancing down at it absently. This much is true; it doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s just… ugly.

 

“How come Madam Pomfrey couldn’t get rid of it?” Rowan asks. “Most wounds are easy enough to heal without scarring.”

 

“I did get it breaking into a Cursed Vault.” Tiffany muses. “I read somewhere that cursed wounds don’t always heal completely. You know, like werewolf bites?”

 

“Those are real?” Jane suddenly seems interested in the conversation now.

 

“Of course they’re real, why wouldn’t they be?” Tulip mutters from her bed, giving up on pretending to be asleep already.

 

“Well I’m sorry if I wasn’t raised in this world.” Jane retorts. “Werewolves are just stories to muggles.”

 

“How can muggles not know what werewolves are, but go to the moon all the time?” Rowan wonders aloud. Tiffany and Jane burst out in laughter, to the confusion of Rowan and Tulip, who look at one another and shrug.

 

“Rowan.” Lottie says, sounding concerned. “Rowan, you do realise that only a few muggles have been to the moon? It’s not like people hop on a bus and get taken there.”

 

“Oh.” Rowan says, sounding a little embarrassed, before turning on Tiffany. “You never said that!”

 

“I only said muggles figured out how to get to the moon! I never said they went there all the time.”

* * *

The sun shines down hot on Tiffany’s face as she walks with the others down to carriages that will take them to the train station. Other students rush past her, all smiling and laughing as they race one another. Rowan comes up to Tiffany’s left, and takes her hand.

 

“I’ll see you over the summer, right?” She asks, while Penny takes Tiffany’s right hand.

 

“And you better write as well. The only time I heard from you at all last summer was when I saw you in Diagon Alley.” Penny chides.

 

“Hopefully I won’t be grounded this year, so I’ll be able to.” Tiffany smiles back.

 

Soon enough, they reach the carriages. It’s a tight squeeze, and being the smallest, Tiffany ends up having to sit on Andre’s lap so that everyone can fit. Thankfully, Bill has elected to spend time with his class mates, or else they would have had to split the group which no doubt would have caused some amount of bickering.

 

They arrive at the station, one of the last groups.

 

“We’re never going to find a compartment.” Tiffany whines, looking at the crowds trying to board the train. Tonks and Charlie look at one another, and grin. Rowan and Penny look worried, and rightly so.

 

“Make way for the Curse-Breaker of Hogwarts!” Tonks shouts, exiting the carriage with Charlie close behind, who holds out a hand to help Tiffany down.

 

_Oh no._

“Celebrity coming through!” Charlie chimes in. Tiffany wants to die. She spots Chester, who grins wickedly at her when she mouths a cry for help at him. Instead of helping, he seems to help Charlie and Tonks clear a path to the train for Tiffany.

 

“Stand back!” He commands the first years he appears to have been helping. “Hogwarts’ Hero is here!”

 

“I’m going to kill everyone and then myself.” Tiffany mutters under her breath, only starting the walk to the train when Rowan gives her a shove from behind. She holds her head up high, and tries not to let her embarrassment show. Tonks nudges her in the side.

 

“Wave.” She hisses.

 

“No!” Tiffany hisses back.

 

“Just do it!” Charlie whispers, sounding on the verge of laughter. Tiffany rolls her eyes, but does as she’s commanded. She is definitely going to kill her friends. As she waves, she spots little Eliza who claps for her, and waves back, causing some of the other first years and a couple members of the Ravenclaw quidditch team to join in. Tiffany feels a blush rise to her cheeks. As she steps onto the train, she turns around, and gives a slight bow to her new ‘fans’ which sets off a new wave of cheers. She turns now, enters the train fully, and comes face to face with Merula, flanked by Ismelda. Merula looks genuinely upset about something, but before Tiffany can open her mouth, the Slytherin scoffs, and stalks away down the train.

 

“What was that about?” Rowan asks, squeezing past to begin searching for a compartment.

 

“No idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Tiffany's friends are embarrassing and awful but she loves them really)
> 
> Year 2 is DONE! I had much more fun writing the climax of this year compared to year one, and it's a little sad it's over, but hey; year 3 soon! 
> 
> I can't promise how soon I'll upload it, like always a lot of the story is already written, but there's a lot of editing going on around the start of this year to fit in with things I've established in this fic, as well as keeping it in line with the game. There will be some (slightly?) bigger changes to game-canon in year 3 though! So that's exciting!
> 
> Thanks again to James018 for commenting!


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